Ultrafast laser oscillators are indispensable tools for diverse applications in scientific research and industry. When the phases of the longitudinal laser cavity modes are locked, pulses as short as a few femtoseconds can be generated.
As most high-power oscillators are based on narrow-bandwidth materials, the achievable duration for high-power output is usually limited. Here, Jinwei Zhang et al. present a distributed Kerr-lens mode locked Yb: YAG thin-disk oscillator which generates sub-50 fs pulses with spectral widths far broader than the emission bandwidth of the gain medium at full-width-at-half-maximum.
Simulations were also carried out, indicating good qualitative agreement with the experimental results. The proof-of-concept study shows that this new mode-locking technique is pulse-energy and average-power scalable and applicable to other types of gain media, which may lead to new records in the generation of ultrashort pulses.
Ultrafast Science
Experimental study
Not applicable
Distributed Kerr Lens Mode-Locked Yb:YAG Thin-Disk Oscillator
4-Jan-2022