Efficient diode-pumped all-solid-state ultrafast 2.3 µm thulium-doped yttrium lithium fluoride laser

Abstract

A diode-pumped passively mode-locked Tm3+-doped yttrium lithium fluoride (YLF) bulk laser at ∼2.3 µm is successfully achieved by using a kind of GaAs-based semiconductor saturable absorber mirror (SESAM). When working in the continuous mode-locking regime, stable ultrashort pulses with a duration of 52.5 ps and a repetition rate of 67 MHz are generated, with a corresponding maximum dual-output power of 284 mW. The radio-frequency spectrum of the output pulses demonstrates a high signal-to-noise ratio of 60 dB. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of a diode-pumped all-solid-state passively mode-locked thulium-doped laser at ∼2.3 µm.