Femtosecond mode-locked Tm3+ and Tm 3+-Ho3+ doped 2 μm glass lasers

We report on the spectroscopic characterization, continuous-wave and continuous wave mode-locked laser performance of bulk Tm3+: GPNG fluorogermanate and Tm3+-Ho3+:TZN tellurite glass lasers around 2 mu m. A slope efficiency of up to 50% and 190 mW of output power were achieved from the Tm3+:GPNG laser at 1944 nm during continuous wave operation. The Tm3+-Ho3+:TZN laser produced a 26% slope efficiency with a maximum output power of 74 mW at 2012 nm. The Tm3+:GPNG produced near-transform-limited pulses of 410 fs duration centered at 1997 nm with up to 84 mW of average output power and repetition frequency of 222 MHz when was passively modelocked using an ion-implanted InGaAsSb-based quantum well SESAM. Using the same SESAM, the Tm3+-Ho3+:TZN laser generated 630-fs pulses with 38 mW of average output power at 2012 nm. Data analysis of pulses at different intracavity pulse energies provided an estimation of n(2) at 2012 nm of 2.9 x 10(-15) cm(2)/W for the Tm3+-Ho3+:TZN (C) 2010 Optical Society of America