Open AccessContinuous-wave and SESAM mode-locked femtosecond operation of a Yb:MgWO_4 laser
Author(s) -
Haifeng Lin,
Ge Zhang,
Lizhen Zhang,
Zhoubin Lin,
Federico Pirzio,
Antonio Agnesi,
Valentín Petrov,
Weidong Chen
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
optics express
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.394
H-Index - 271
ISSN - 1094-4087
DOI - 10.1364/oe.25.011827
Subject(s) - materials science , continuous wave , femtosecond , optics , laser , fiber laser , mode locking , wavelength , ytterbium , optoelectronics , physics
We present a detailed continuous-wave regime characterization and, for the first time to the best of our knowledge, SESAM mode-locked femtosecond operation with a monoclinic, Yb 3+ -doped, MgWO 4 crystal. Pumping with a low-power, single-mode fiber-coupled laser diode emitting at 976 nm, we demonstrate threshold for continuous-wave (cw) operation as low as 50 mW (absorbed pump power) and slope efficiency up to ~60% (with respect to the absorbed pump power) for two of the principal emission polarizations. The output wavelength in the cw regime is continuously tunable over a ∼50 nm broad range. Mode-locking the laser with a SESAM, we achieve almost Fourier-transform limited pulses with a duration of 132 and 125 fs depending on the polarization.