Diode-pumped passively mode-locked Nd/sup 3+/-doped fluoride fiber laser emitting at 1.05 /spl mu/m: novel results

The investigation of a novel seed source for Nd:glass or Nd:YLF regenerative amplifiers presented in an earlier work is extended. The new results demonstrate the versatility of the diode-pumped passively mode-locked Nd/sup 3+/:ZBLAN fluoride fiber laser: pulses with durations from 9.2 ps to 320 fs, with center wavelengths in the range 1047-1060 nm, and with a maximum average output power of 4 mW could be generated. The amplitude noise was as low as 0.6% rms (150 Hz-100 kHz) and the longterm stability and reliability were impressive as well. Further, an evaluation of the capabilities of three different (analytical, semi-analytical, and numerical) models to predict the pulse durations is performed for laser setups used in our experiment.