Passive stabilization of a passively mode-locked laser by nonlinear absorption in indium phosphide

Cerny, P. and Valentine, G.J. and Burns, D. (2004) Passive stabilization of a passively mode-locked laser by nonlinear absorption in indium phosphide. Optics Letters, 29 (12). pp. 1387-1389. ISSN 0146-9592 (http://dx.doi.org/10.1364/OL.29.001387)

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Abstract

A diode-pumped Nd:KGd(WO4)2 laser mode locked by a saturable Bragg reflector (SBR) is passively stabilized to suppress Q -switched mode locking and to extend the parameter range of continuous-wave mode locking. An indium phosphide plate exhibiting two-photon absorption and free-carrier absorption is used for passive stabilization. The intracavity pulse energy for the onset of stable continuous-wave mode locking is reduced by a factor of 4 compared with the laser without stabilization. By increasing the modulation depth of the SBR, pulse shortening by 30% is achieved and bandwidth-limited 6.2-ps pulses are measured.