Disordered garnets Ca3(Nb, Ga)5O12:Nd3+- prospective crystals for powerful ultrashort-pulse generation (original) (raw)

Disordered garnets Ca3(Nb, Ca) 5 0 12 :Nd 3 " grown by the Czochralski method are used in a pulsed picosecond laser to generate 5-10-ps pulses in passive mode-locking trains of 120-180 ns and 1.6 mJ of energy at 1.06 Am. The evolution of the pulse parameters along the train is investigated. Direct time-resolved measurements allow us to determine the positive linear chirp of the laser frequency, which causes the pulse spectral broadening of Av = 50-60 cm-'. The chirped pulses are compressed in the external grating compressor. The measured pulse duration of 2 ps is limited by the time resolution of the streak camera.