Direct Kerr-lens Mode-Locked Tm:LuYO3 Ceramic Laser

A direct Kerr-lens mode-locked Tm:LuYO3 ceramic laser without the aid of any mode-locked starting element is reported for the first time.A pulse duration as short as 259 fs and a maximum average output power of 326 mW are obtained at a repetition rate of 97.1 MHz.The corresponding optical spectrum centered at 2053 nm exhibits a bandwidth of 19.8 nm,which indicates the presence of nearly Fourier transform-limited pulses.Such a Kerr-lens mode-locked Tm:LuYO3 ceramic laser is a promising ultrashort pulse source,with both the excellent laser characteristics of Tm:LuYO3 and the high-power 790 nm laser diode pumping scheme.