Effective shortening of picosecond pulses emitted by a YAG:Nd3+ laser

A 15-fold reduction in the duration of YAG:Nd³⁺ laser pulses was achieved under conditions of active mode locking and Q switching at a pulse repetition frequency ~1 kHz. Phase self-modulation in a single-mode quartz fiber waveguide of length 10 m resulted in broadening of the laser emission spectrum right up to ~10 cm^–1 at the waveguide exit. The pulses were then shortened in a system with a diffraction grating. The pulse duration was measured by a correlation system in which the second harmonic was generated.