Kerr-lens mode-locking of an Yb:CLNGG laser

We report on a Kerr-lens mode-locked laser based on an Yb3+-doped disordered calcium lithium niobium gallium garnet (Yb:CLNGG) crystal. Pumping by a spatially single -mode Yb fiber laser at 976 nm, the Yb:CLNGG laser delivers soliton pulses as short as 31 fs at 1056.8 nm with an average output power of 66 mW and a pulse repetition rate of & SIM;77.6 MHz via soft-aperture Kerr-lens mode-locking. The maximum output power of the Kerr-lens mode-locked laser amounted to 203 mW for slightly longer pulses of 37 fs at an absorbed pump power of 0.74 W, which corresponds to a peak power of 62.2 kW and an optical efficiency of 20.3%. & COPY; 2023 Optica Publishing Group under the terms of the Optica Open Access Publishing Agreement

Automated summary

We present a Kerr-lens mode-locked laser utilizing an Yb3+-doped disordered calcium lithium niobium gallium garnet (Yb:CLNGG) crystal. By pumping with a spatially single-mode Yb fiber laser at 976nm, the Yb:CLNGG laser generates soliton pulses with a duration of 31 fs at 1056.8nm, achieving an average output power of 66mW and a pulse repetition rate of approximately 77.6MHz via soft-aperture Kerr-lens mode-locking. The Kerr-lens mode-locked laser reaches a maximum output power of 203mW for slightly longer pulses of 37fs at an absorbed pump power of 0.74W, corresponding to a peak power of 62.2kW and an optical efficiency of 20.3%.