Power-scalable sub-100-fs Tm laser at 2.08 mu m

Abstract

We report on a power-scalable sub-100-fs laser in the 2-mu m spectral range using a Tm3+-doped 'mixed' (Lu,Sc)(2)O-3 sesquioxide ceramic as an active medium. Pulses as short as 58 fs at 2076 nm with an average output power of 114 mW at a pulse repetition rate of approximately 82.9 MHz are generated by employing single-walled carbon nanotubes as a saturable absorber. A higher average power of 350 mW at 2075 nm is obtained at the expense of the pulse duration (65 fs). A maximum average power of 486 mW is achieved for a pulse duration of 98 fs and an optical conversion efficiency of 22.3%, representing the highest value ever reported from sub-100-fs mode-locked Tm lasers.