550 MHz carbon nanotube mode-locked femtosecond Cr:YAG laser

Abstract

We demonstrate a femtosecond Cr:YAG laser mode-locked by a carbon nanotube saturable absorber mirror (CNT-SAM) at a repetition rate of 550 MHz. By employing the CNT-SAM, which exhibits a modulation depth of 0.51% and a saturation fluence of 28 mu J/cm(2) at 1.5 mu m, we achieved a compact bulk Cr:YAG laser with self-starting mode-locked operation near 1.5 mu m, delivering an average output power of up to 147 mW and a pulse duration of 110 fs. To our knowledge, this system provides the highest repetition rate among reported CNT-SAM mode-locked Cr:YAG lasers and the shortest pulse duration among saturable absorber mode-locked Cr:YAG lasers with repetition rates above 500 MHz.