87  fs pulse generation in a diode-pumped semiconductor saturable absorber mirror mode-locked Yb:YLF laser

A Yb:YLF crystal has been investigated in a femtosecond oscillator pumped by two 400 mW single-mode fiber-coupled diodes emitting at 976 nm and mode locked with a semiconductor saturable absorber mirror. Almost Fourier transform-limited pulses with durations of 87 and 107 fs were demonstrated for extraordinary and ordinary polarizations, respectively. This is, to the best of our knowledge, the first demonstration of sub-100 fs pulses with Yb:YLF, and it proves the potential for ultrashort pulse generation and amplification with this material.