Subpicosecond quantum dot saturable absorber mode-locked semiconductor disk laser

We report the generation of subpicosecond pulses from a passively mode locked, optically pumped quantum well semiconductor disk laser using a quantum dot semiconductor saturable absorber mirror (SESAM). We obtained 870 fs pulses at a repetition rate of 895 MHz with average output power of 45 mW at 1027.5 nm. The mode locking operation was insensitive to SESAM temperature over the range of -10 to 85 degrees C, with the pulse duration variation thought to be dominated by the temperature dependence of the group delay dispersion.