Low-timing-jitter high-power mode-locked 1063 nm Nd:GdVO4 master oscillator power amplifier.

A low-timing-jitter high-power semiconductor saturable absorber mirror mode-locked picosecond (ps) 1063 nm Nd:GdVO4 master oscillator power amplifier is presented. Using a single-pass Nd:GdVO4 amplifier, an amplified laser with 21.5 W output power and 8.3 ps pulsewidth was achieved at 250 MHz repetition rate. Employing a servo control, an average RMS timing jitter of ∼222 fs was realized. This laser can be used as a drive laser for photocathode injectors in free-electron lasers.