Tunable and Mode-Locking Yb,Nd:Sc2SiO5 Femtosecond Laser

Yb,Nd:Sc
₂
SiO
₅
crystal was investigated by co-doping Nd
³⁺
ions into Yb:Sc
₂
SiO
₅
crystal. The emission cross section was systematically enquired under different excitation wavelengths at 808, 915, and 980 nm. The emission cross section was enhanced by 18.9% at an excitation wavelength of 980 nm due to energy transfer between Nd
³⁺
ions and Yb
³⁺
ions when comparing with Yb:Sc
₂
SiO
₅
crystal. The continuous-wave tunable Yb,Nd:Sc
₂
SiO
₅
laser ranging over 58 nm was achieved from 1030.4 to 1088.4 nm. Mode-locking Yb,Nd:Sc
₂
SiO
₅
femtosecond laser was obtained with output power of 240 mW, pulse duration of 367 fs, and peak power of 11.5 kW.