Sub-80 femtosecond pulses generation from a diode-pumped mode-locked Nd:Ca₃La₂(BO₃)₄ disordered crystal laser

We experimentally demonstrated a diode-pumped sub-80 fs Nd:Ca₃La₂(BO₃)₄ disordered crystal laser. Pumping by an 808 nm fiber coupled laser diode, stable continuous-wave mode-locked pulses as short as 79 fs were achieved with a semiconductor saturable absorber mirror (SESAM). The ultrashort pulses had a repetition rate of ∼98.9  MHz at the central wavelength of about 1068 nm. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of sub-100 fs pulses and the shortest mode-locked pulses generated from the Nd³⁺-doped crystal lasers.