Diode-Pumped Passively Mode-Locked Nd : LuVO$_{4}$ Laser With a Semiconductor Saturable Absorber Mirror

A high output power diode-pumped passively mode-locked all-solid-state ${\hbox{Nd}:\hbox{LuVO}_{4}}$ laser is demonstrated with a semiconductor saturable absorber mirror. Both the $Q$-switched and continuous-wave mode-locked operation are experimentally realized. The mode-locked pulses have a pulsewidth of 7.9 ps and a repetition rate of 105 MHz. At the incident pump power of 22 W, a maximum average output power of 7.6 W is obtained giving an optical conversion efficiency of 34.5%.