Single output LD end-pumped passively mode-locked Nd:YVO₄laser with semiconductor saturable absorber mirror

Abstract

A quarter-wave plate and the thin film polarizer (TFP) are used for the LD end-pumped passively mode-locked Nd:YVO4 laser with semiconductor saturable absorber mirror (SESAM) to obtain a single beam output with a total power of 4.8 W. An optical–optical efficiency is achieved to be 24% for a stable CW mode-locking operation at 1064 nm, with a pulse repetition rate of 70 MHz and pulse width of 16 ps. The multipulse in the pulse sequence is eliminated for reaching a peak power as high as 4 kW.