A diode-pumped nonlinear mirror mode-locked Nd:YAG laser

Abstract
We report on passive mode-locking of a cw diode-pumped Nd:YAG laser using the nonlinear mirror technique. The nonlinear mirror is made by a lithium triborate frequency doubling crystal and a dichroic mirror that partially transmits the fundamental frequency and totally reflects the second harmonic. The laser produces nearly transform-limited pulses of 10 ps duration and 700 mW average power, with a slope efficiency of 28%. The mode-locking is self-starting under optimized conditions. Long term stability requires accurate control of the crystal temperature.