Development of subpicosecond Yb:YAG laser for material processing

The use of sub-ps laser pulses for material processing results in very precise cutting and drilling with high efficiency. But the energy of femtosecond laser pulse is essentially small. To accomplish high throughput for the industrial applications, it is required to operate the laser system at a high repetition rate and thus at a high average power. Therefore, we decided to develop a LD-pumped femtosecond MHz Yb:YAG MOPA laser system. As a first step, the development of a Yb:YAG oscillator, which employs Kerr-lens mode locking, is in progress.