Ef f icient mode locked picosecond Yb:YAG ceramic laser

A diode-pumped picosecond mode-locked Yb:YAG ceramic laser is realized with a slope efficiency of 44%. Output power up to 1.04 W is obtained with pulse duration of 10.4 ps at central wavelength of 1 049.5 nm. The standard deviation of maximum output power instability is 0.00453.