SESAM mode-locked Yb:SrY(BO) laser.

We demonstrate the first sub-40 fs soliton pulse generation from a diode-pumped Yb:SrY(BO) laser passively mode-locked by a semiconductor saturable absorber mirror. Pulses as short as 38 fs at a central wavelength of 1051.7 nm were achieved with an average output power of 115 mW and a pulse repetition rate of 67.7 MHz. The maximum average output power reached 303 mW at 1057.8 nm with a slightly longer pulse duration of 52 fs, which corresponded to a peak power of 76.9 kW and an optical efficiency of 25.3%.