DIODE-PUMPED MODE-LOCKED ND3-MU-M( DOPED FLUORIDE FIBER LASER EMITTING AT 1.05)

We report on a novel seed source for Nd:Glass or Nd:YLF regenerative a mplifiers. It consists of a diode pumped Nd3+:ZBLAN fluoride fiber las er operating at 1.05 mu m. Experiment and theory reveal that the fiber gain is strongly saturated which leads to an improved stability. When the fiber laser is passively mode-locked with a multiple quantum well saturable absorber (non-transform limited) pulses of 9 ps duration wi th a pulse energy of 70 pJ (absorbed pump power of similar to 55 mW) a re routinely obtained from a simple and compact set-up without dispers ion compensation. On the other hand bandwidth limited 2 ps pulses are obtained for a slightly anomalous total intracavity dispersion. As the generated pulses are similar to the ones obtained from the bulk seed lasers normally used for regenerative amplification, the fiber laser p resented here is a valuable alternative due to its simplicity and comp actness.