High-power picosecond quasiCW 1.3 /spl mu/m Nd-lasers passively modelocked using novel low-loss GalnNAs SBRs

A spin-off from our work on dilute-N GalnNAs VCSELs has been the development of saturable Bragg reflectors (SBR) based on a single 7 nm-thick Ga/sub 0.65/ln/sub 0.35/N/sub 0.019/As/sub 0.981/ quantum-well grown midway in the final quarter-wave layer of a 21 pair AlAs/GaAs Bragg mirror. The SBR was used as the modelocking element in the high power 1.3 /spl mu/m Nd:YLF laser. The laser was operated quasiCW permitting very high power effective 'on-time' operation in a simple side-pumped laser configuration. The laser was pumped with 360 W peak power at 2% duty cycle (200/spl mu/s at 100 Hz).