32-fs Kerr-lens mode-locked Yb:CaGdAlO4 oscillator optically pumped by a bright fiber laser

In this study, we report on a pure Kerr-lens mode-locked Yb:CaGdAlO4 oscillator optically pumped by a diffraction-limited fiber laser. At the repetition rate of 96 MHz, several configurations have been studied to achieve either pulse duration of 40 fs with average powers up to the watt level or shorter pulse duration down to 32 fs. To the best of our knowledge, this represents the shortest pulse duration ever achieved with an Yb-doped bulk material and the highest average power for sub-40-fs Kerr-lens mode-locked Yb-bulk oscillator. (C) 2014 Optical Society of America