High-power efficient cw and pulsed lasers based on bulk Yb : KYW crystals with end diode pumping

End-diode-pumped lasers based on one and two Yb : KYW crystals operating in cw and Q-switched regimes, as well as in the regime of mode-locking, are studied. The single-crystal laser generated stable ultrashort (shorter than 100 fs) laser pulses at wavelengths of 1035 and 1043 nm with an average power exceeding 1 W. The average output power of the two-crystal laser exceeded 18 W in the cw regime and 16 W in the Q-switched regime with a slope efficiency exceeding 30 %.