Diode-pumped passively mode-locked Er,Yb:YAl3(BO3)4 laser at 1.5 -1.6 μm

This paper reports on a passively mode-locked Er
³⁺
,Yb
³⁺
:YAl
₃
(BO
₃
)
₄
(Er,Yb:YAB) laser that generates 3.8 ps-pulses at 1530 nm with an average power up to 270 mW. This is the first passively mode-locked Er /Yb co-doped laser based on a crystalline gain medium. The optimisation of the saturable absorber and laser-gain parameters such as modulation depth, intracavity fluence and dispersion will lead to efficient sub-picosecond pulse generation in range of 1.5-1.6 μm from this type of diode-pumped Er,Yb:YAB laser.