Low threshold of a continuous-wave mode-locked and azimuthally polarized Nd:YVO4 laser with a semiconductor saturable absorber mirror

摘要

On the basis of the birefringence of laser crystals, a continuous-wave mode-locked Nd:YVO4 laser with azimuthal polarization was fabricated using a semiconductor saturable absorber mirror. When compared to the method based on thermally induced birefringence, the threshold was sufficiently lower than that in previous studies with about the one-tenth ratio of threshold. The repetition rate and pulse width for the continuous-wave mode-locked pulse were 125 MHz and 77 ps, respectively, at a pump power of 11 W. The degree of polarization was 90.0% +/- 1.9%.