NaCl:OH− color center laser modelocked by a novel bonded saturable Bragg reflector

We present the design and modelocking results of a novel saturable Bragg reflector constructed from separate Bragg stack and quantum well semiconductor wafers, bonded by the technique of atomic rearrangement. This device was used to modelock a NaCl:OH− color center laser, producing 200 fs pulses in the 1.60 μm range. The laser is self-starting, requires no dedicated dispersion compensating optics, and maintains a highly stable, nearly transform limited output pulse train with up to 500 mW average output power.