Self-oscillations in cw solid-state ultrashort-pulse-generating lasers with mode locking by self-focusing

Steady-state and transient regimes of ultrashort pulse generation are studied for cw solid-state lasers with mode locking by self-focusing. It is shown that the control parameter, which governs the nature of lasing, is the relationship between self-phase-modulation and the saturation intensity of an efficient shutter, induced by the Kerr self-focusing. Numerical modelling based on mapping the parameters of a quasi-soliton ultrashort pulse, considered in the aberration-free approximation, yields results in good agreement with experiments.