6-GHz, Kerr-lens mode-locked Yb:Lu2O3 ceramic laser for comb-resolved broadband spectroscopy

A laser diode (LD)-pumped, 6-GHz repetition rate, ytterbium (Yb)-doped Lu2O3 ceramic Kerr-lens mode-locked laser is described. A bow-tie ring cavity enabled the generation of femtosecond pulses centered at a wavelength of 1076 nm with an average power of 10 mW. The pulse duration after an amplifier was 161 fs whereas the transform-limited pulse duration directly from the oscillator was 148 fs. The repetition frequency was sufficiently high for each longitudinal mode to be spectrally resolved by a commercially available optical spectrum analyzer. The developed laser was successfully applied to the absorption spectroscopy of metastable helium4 and demonstrated the suitability of the system as a source for comb-resolved broadband spectroscopy.