Passively mode-locked Yb:KYW laser pumped by a tapered diode laser

We demonstrate the operation of a low threshold femtosecond Yb: KYW laser, using a saturable absorber mirror for passive mode-locking and a high brightness laser diode as pumping source. Fourier-limited pulses with a duration of 101 fs are achieved at an output power of approximate to100 mW. The performance of the Yb: KYW laser was also compared to that of Yb: KGW and Yb: glass in the same setup. (C) 2002 Optical Society of America.