Passively mode-locked Yb:Y/sub 2/O/sub 3/ ceramic laser with a GaAs saturable absorber mirror

We report on a diode-pumped passively mode-locked Yb: Y/sub 2/O/sub 3/ ceramic laser by using a GaAs wafer simultaneously as saturable absorber and output coupler. Mode-locked pulses of 1.1 ps with repetition rate of 125 MHz are achieved.