Kerr-lens mode-locked Yb:(Lu,Sc)₂O₃ ceramic laser

We report on continuous-wave and Kerr-lens mode-locked operation of an ytterbium-doped mixed sesquioxide ceramic laser. Pumped by a 976 nm Yb-fiber laser, the Yb:(Lu,Sc)₂O₃ ceramic laser delivered a maximum continuous-wave output power of 1.05 W near 1039 nm for an absorbed pump power of 1.78 W, corresponding to a slope efficiency of 64.9%. By inserting a Lyot filter into the cavity, continuous wavelength tuning over 80 nm was achieved. In the mode-locked regime, soliton pulses as short as 44 fs were generated at 1083.3 nm via soft-aperture Kerr-lens mode-locking. The mode-locked laser generated a maximum average output power of 420 mW at a pulse repetition rate of ∼61.5 MHz, corresponding to a peak power of ∼137 kW. To the best of our knowledge, these are the shortest pulses ever generated from any ytterbium-doped sesquioxide ceramic laser, demonstrating the potential of Yb:(Lu,Sc)₂O₃ ceramic as a broadband gain medium for few-optical-cycle solid-state lasers.