Generation of high-contrast subpicopulses by single-stage 110-fold compression of YAG:Nd3+ laser pulses

The optimal conditions for the compression of pulses from a cw YAG:Nd^{3 +} laser with active mode locking were achieved by the use of a single-mode fiber waveguide and a diffraction grating compressor. The pulses compressed from 60 psec to 550 fsec were of high quality: there were no wide wings or a pedestal. This 110-fold compression was the maximum value for single-stage compression schemes in the spectral range of positive dispersion of group velocities in waveguides.