High-Power Sub-300-fs Semiconductor Disk Lasers

Ultrafast optically pumped semiconductor disk lasers (SDLs), such as vertical external-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VECSELs [1]) or modelocked integrated external-cavity surface-emitting lasers (MIXSELs [2]), are compact high-power gigahertz lasers with excellent beam quality. Applications such as frequency comb stabilization demand a sub-200-fs pulse duration combined with high pulse peak power. While the highest SDL peak power is currently 4.35 kW in 400-fs pulses [3], shorter 107-fs pulses are generated at 3 mW of average output power only [4]. Here we present a high-power sub-150-fs SESAM-modelocked VECSEL with 100 mW average output power at 1.8 GHz repetition rate, resulting in >320 W of peak power. Moreover we present the shortest pulses (255 fs) from a MIXSEL at high 180 mW average output power and 3.3 GHz repetition rate.