We report on the first femtosecond vertical external cavity surface emitting laser (VECSEL)
exceeding 1 W of average output power. The VECSEL is optically pumped, based on self-
assembled InAs quantum dot (QD) gain layers, cooled efficiently using a thin disk geometry
and passively modelocked with a fast quantum dot semiconductor saturable absorber mirror
(SESAM). We developed a novel gain structure with a flat group delay dispersion (GDD)
of±10 fs^ 2 over a range of 30 nm around the designed operation wavelength of 960 nm …

We report on a record-high output power from an optically pumped quantum-dot vertical-
external-cavity surface-emitting laser, optimized for high-power emission at 1040 nm. A
maximum continuous-wave output power of 8.41 W is obtained at a heat sink temperature of
1.5° C. By inserting a birefringent filter inside the laser cavity, a wavelength tuning over a
range of 45 nm is achieved.