Operation of an end-pumped Yb³⁺:CaYAlO₄ laser operating in the positive dispersion regime is experimentally investigated. The laser emitted strongly chirped pulses with extremely steep spectral edges, resembling the characteristics of dissipative solitons observed in fiber lasers. The results show that dissipative soliton emission constitutes another operating regime for mode locked Yb³⁺-doped solid state lasers, which can be explored for the generation of stable large energy femtosecond pulses.

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The authors report on the dissipative soliton operation of a diode pumped Yb 3þ :Sc 2 SiO 5 (Yb:SSO) laser in the vicinity of the zero group velocity dispersion (GVD). It is found that the soliton shaping in the laser is dominated by the third-order dispersion (TOD) of the cavity as reflected by the appearance of an asymmetrical spectral sideband in the soliton spectrum. Soliton pulses as short as 93 fs have been obtained in the laser. The authors show that the shortest soliton pulse achievable in the laser is limited by the cavity induced soliton instability, rather than the Kelly spectral sideband formation.

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