High-power diode-pumped Kerr-lens mode-locked bulk Yb:KGW laser

A high-power (> 1 W) pure Kerr-lens mode-locked bulk Yb:KGW laser with multimode fiber-coupled diode pumping was demonstrated. The laser delivered 240 fs pulses with 2.3 W of average output power at 86.8 MHz, corresponding to 97kWof peak power and 26 nJ of pulse energy. The shortest generated pulse duration was 120 fs with 1.2Wof output power. The self-starting regime was also observed with a background continuous-wave component. The laser exhibited more than an order of magnitude higher output power when compared to the previously reported bulk Yb-ion-doped lasers with multimode laser diode pumping systems. (C) 2017 Optical Society of America.