Characteristics of femtosecond pulses near 15 μm in a self-mode-locked Cr^4+:YAG laser

The operating characteristics of a self-mode-locked Cr(4+) :YAG laser that produces sub-100-fs pulses are described. Stable, nearly transform-limited pulses are obtained at a central wavelength longer than 1.50 microm, and the spectrum of the wavelength is extended past 1.60 microm, over the net gain bandwidth of the laser material. The group-velocity dispersion and the third-order dispersion of the Cr-doped YAG rod are measured by a Fourierindicating that the group-velocity dispersion vanishes at a transform interferometric cross-correlation technique, wavelength of 1.59 microm.