Diode-pumped femtosecond Yb:NaY(WO/sub 4/)/sub 2/

Pulses as short as 97 fs for an average power of 70 mW were obtained directly from a SESAM modelocked diode pumped laser based on the tetragonal NaY(WO 4 ) 2 , a locally disordered double tungstate, doped with Yb. An extracavity prism pair helped to reduce the pulse duration to 90 fs with a corresponding time-bandwidth product of 0.321.