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The growth, spectroscopic properties, and laser performance of Yb:YVO4 crystal with laser diode pumping are reported. A peak absorption cross section of 7.4 x 10(-20) cm2 at 985 nm, a radiative lifetime of 0.25 ms, and a stimulated-emission cross section of 1.25 x 10(-20) cm2 at 1008 nm for pi polarization were determined for the Yb3+ ions in YVO4. Continuous-wave laser action of Yb:YVO4 at 1020-1027 nm was demonstrated with an output power of 610 mW and a slope efficiency of 49%.

We demonstrate what is to our knowledge the first passively mode-locked thin-disk Yb:KY(WO(4))(2) laser. The laser produces pulses of 240-fs duration with an average power of 22 W at a center wavelength of 1028 nm. At a pulse repetition rate of 25 MHz, the pulse energy is 0.9microJ , and the peak power is as high as 3.3 MW. The beam quality is very close to the diffraction limit, with M(2)=1.1 .

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