Creation and Investigation of a SESAM and DSAM Mirrors for Yb:KYW Laser

Abstract

A stable passive mode-locking regime for a Yb:KYW laser using two types of optical shutter was obtained. The first type was a SESAM and the second type was based on the same type saturable absorber with a dielectric reflector DSAM. The typical parameters of the mode-locking regime were as follows: a pulse duration of about 200 fs for both types of shutter, an average power of 2.54 W for SESAM and 0.92 W for the DSAM. The efficiency relative to the incident pump power was 57% for the SESAM and 19% for the DSAM. The mirror damage threshold estimate for the SESAM was at least 8.9 mJ cm−2.