Low-noise hybrid mode locking of a femtosecond continuous-wave dye laser with Gires–Tournois interferometers

Abstract

We succeeded in generating bandwidth-limited 81-fsec optical pulses from a synchronously pumped, hybrid mode-locked cw dye laser with an average power of 35 mW and a repetition rate of 79.70 MHz. The laser consists of a linear cavity with two separate dye jets and two Gires–Tournois interferometers for adjustment of the intracavity group-velocity dispersion. We analyzed the dependence of the random fluctuations of the output pulse train on the cavity parameters. We found increased stability compared with earlier experiments and attributed it to the efficient intracavity chirp compensation by the Gires–Tournois interferometers.