Abstract
We describe a Ti:sapphire laser pumped directly with a pair of 1.2W 445nm laser diodes. With over 30mW average power at 800 nm and a measured pulsewidth of 15fs, Kerr-lens-modelocked pulses are available with dramatically decreased pump cost. We propose a simple model to explain the observed highly stable Kerr-lens modelocking in spite of the fact that both the mode-locked and continuous-wave modes are smaller than the pump mode in the crystal.
Highlights
Titanium-doped sapphire is an excellent and widely-used gain medium, with an active ion which has a large bandwidth in a host crystal that is hard and has high thermal conductivity [1]
We describe a Ti:sapphire laser pumped directly with a pair of 1.2W 445nm laser diodes
We propose a simple model to explain the observed highly stable Kerr-lens modelocking in spite of the fact that both the mode-locked and continuous-wave modes are smaller than the pump mode in the crystal
Summary
Titanium-doped sapphire is an excellent and widely-used gain medium, with an active ion which has a large bandwidth in a host crystal that is hard and has high thermal conductivity [1]. High-power laser diodes very near the peak absorption of Ti3+ at 500nm are not yet available, the recent development of 445 nm diodes [12] at high power (over 1W) has opened up the possibility of directly diode-pumping Ti:sapphire oscillators. These diode lasers have an emitter area of approximately 15μm x 1μm. Work by the University of Strathclyde in Scotland, demonstrated the direct diode pumping of a Ti:sapphire laser oscillator [13], and subsequent modelocking by use of intracavity prisms and a saturable Bragg reflector (SBR) [14]. Direct diode-pumped Ti:sapphire lasers have great promise to increase reliability and portability for a new generation of ultrafast laser systems
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