High-efficiency diode-pumped femtosecond Yb:YAG ceramic laser

Area of Science:

• Laser Physics
• Materials Science

Background:

• Diode-pumped solid-state lasers offer efficient and compact solutions for various applications.
• Yb:YAG ceramic lasers are promising gain media due to their favorable spectroscopic properties and potential for high power.

Purpose of the Study:

• To demonstrate a highly efficient diode-end-pumped femtosecond Yb:YAG ceramic laser.
• To characterize the output performance, including power, repetition rate, pulse duration, and wavelength.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a fiber-coupled 968 nm diode laser for end-pumping.
• Employed a femtosecond Yb:YAG ceramic gain medium.
• Measured output power, repetition rate, pulse duration, and central wavelength.

Main Results:

• Achieved 1.9 W of mode-locked output power at a 64.27 MHz repetition rate.
• Obtained a high slope efficiency of 76% with 3.5 W absorbed pump power.
• Measured a pulse duration of 418 fs with a central wavelength of 1048 nm.

Conclusions:

• The diode-end-pumped Yb:YAG ceramic laser demonstrates high efficiency and femtosecond pulse generation capabilities.
• This laser system shows potential for applications requiring high-power, ultrashort pulsed laser sources.