The phase-matching properties of BIBO, BBO and LBO crystals for optical parametric oscillators (OPO) with wavelength tuning in the visible and near infrared spectral ranges were numerically investigated. The phase-matching configurations with a pump wavelength of 520 nm that provide the largest effective nonlinearity in each crystal were considered and compared. In addition, dispersive characteristics, including the group velocity mismatch and group velocity dispersion, which are of significant importance in femtosecond OPOs, were calculated. Finally, the attainable gain bandwidths for each crystal were estimated.

High-power dual-wavelength diode-pumped Yb:KGW laser using a single birefringent filter plate was demonstrated. Two oscillating wavelengths maintained the same polarization and stable dual-wavelength operation at 1014.6 and 1041.3 nm (7.57 THz of frequency offset) with 3.4 W of average output power and a diffraction-limited beam profile was obtained. Dual-wavelength laser operation at shorter- or longer-wavelength pairs with lower average output power could also be realized for other output-coupling transmissions.

Supercontinuum generation with considerable flatness and low fluctuation is investigated in nonlinear fibers by amplification of pulsed seed signal of a stable mode locked bismuth oxide based erbium doped fiber laser. Spectral expansion from 980 to 1750 nm is obtained by 340 fs pulses at 1560 nm amplified up to 177 kW in a dispersion flattened highly nonlinear fiber. A comparison is made for different types of nonlinear fibers and evaluation of spectral bandwidth at high powers is probed.

A passively mode-locked fiber ring laser is demonstrated using a 49 cm long bismuth oxide based erbium-doped fiber (Bi-EDF) and a fast semiconductor saturable absorber. Stable and clean short pulses are achieved because of these short and high nonlinear characteristics of the Bi-EDF. The laser operates at 1560 nm with a repetition rate of 8.3 MHz and a center wavelength of 1560 nm. The calibrated auto-correlator pulse trace of the laser shows a sech 2 pulse shape, with an estimated pulse width of 340 fs.

A high power sub-60 fs mode-locked diodepumped Yb:KGW laser based on hybrid action of an InGaAs quantum-dot saturable absorber mirror and Kerr-lens mode locking was demonstrated. The laser delivered a 56 fs pulse with 1.95 W of average power corresponding 450 kW of peak power. The width of the generated laser spectrum was 20.5 nm, which was near the gain bandwidth limit of the Yb:KGW crystal. To the best of our knowledge, these are the shortest pulses generated from the monoclinic double tungstate crystals (and Yb:KGW laser crystal in particular) and the most powerful in the sub-60 fs regime. At the same time, they are also the shortest pulses produced to date with the help of a quantum-dot-based saturable absorber. High power operation with a pulse duration of 90 fs and 2.85 W of average output power was also demonstrated.