High-average-power (>20-W) Nd:YVO_4 lasers mode locked by strain-compensated saturable Bragg reflectors

• DOI: 10.1364/josab.17.000919
• Publication Date: 2007-08-17T17:39:39Z
• Authors: D. Burns; M. Hetterich; A. I. Ferguson; E. Bente; M. D. Dawson; J. I. Davies; S. W. Bland
• Keywords: Strain (injury); Mode-Locking

Strain-compensated double InGaAs quantum-well saturable Bragg reflectors (SBR's) with high damage thresholds have been developed for use as mode-locking elements in high-average-power neodymium lasers. Nd:YVO4 lasers these new SBR's, which produce transform-limited pulses of 21-ps duration at 90 MHz and an average power 20 W a diffraction-limited output beam. The peak pulse was 10.6 kW. A comparison the operating parameters strained single strain-compensated double-well SBR's indicates that threshold increased by factor least 2–3. Long cavity laser variants were investigated to assess limitations further scaling. At repetition frequency 36-MHz stable mode-locked powers 24.4 kW energies 0.6 µJ could be generated.