All-solid-state Cr:forsterite femtosecond laser designed as a three-element resonator

Summary form only given. With the perspective of industrial applications, progress has been achieved in the design of compact femtosecond laser sources, which use soft-aperture KLM (Kerr-lens mode-locking) and GVD (group velocity dispersion) compensation without the use of a sequential prism pair or dispersion-compensating mirrors. The paper reports on a femtosecond Cr:forsterite (Cr/sup 4+/:Mg/sub 2/SiO/sub 4/) laser with only three intracavity elements, including a prismatic cut laser rod and a prismatic output coupler. The emission wavelengths for fs pulses range from 1230 nm to 1305 nm and are applicable for telecommunications and medical imaging (optical coherence tomography).