Growth, spectroscopy and high power laser operation of Yb:YAl_3(BO_3)_4 crystal: Continuous-wave, mode-locking and chirped pulse regenerative amplification

摘要

We report on growth, spectroscopy and continuous-wave, mode-locking lasing and chirped pulse regenerative amplification of Yb:YAl3(BO3)(4) (Yb:YAB) crystal. Efficient CW laser operation with 9.2 W output power, 46% optical-to-optical and 74% slope efficiencies was demonstrated. Efficient SESAM mode-locked Yb:YAB bulk laser was demonstrated for sigma-polarization with 4 W average output power at 70 MHz pulse repetition frequency (PRF) and 195-fs pulse duration resulting in the pulse energy of 57 nJ and pulse peak power of 0.3 MW. Optical-to-optical efficiency of 27% in mode-locked regime is demonstrated. Chirped pulse regenerative amplifier based on Yb:YAB crystal demonstrated with maximum output power of 4.6 W (6 W of chirped pulses and optical-to-optical efficiency of 25%) and 695 fs pulse duration at 100 kHz PRF for the first time to the best of our knowledge.