Mode locking of colliding pulses in an YAlO3:Nd laser

An investigation was made of the duration of ultrashort pulses generated as a result of passive mode locking in YAlO₃:Nd lasers with a linear resonator and an antiresonance reflector. It was found that the duration of these pulses was determined primarily by the ratio of the beam cross sections in a nonlinear absorber and in the active medium. The optimal matching of the cross sections resulted in generation of ultrashort (10 ps) pulses in a conventional resonator and in a resonator with an antiresonance ring.