We present a passive and robust mode-locking scheme for a Vertical External Cavity Surface Emitting Laser (VECSEL). We placed the semiconductor gain medium and the semiconductor saturable absorber mirror (SESAM) strategically in a ring cavity to provide a stable colliding pulse operation. With this cavity geometry, the two counter propagating pulses synchronize on the SESAM to saturate the absorber together. This minimizes the energy lost and creates a transient carrier grating due to the interference of the two beams. The interaction of the two counter-propagating pulses in the SESAM is shown to extend the range of the modelocking regime and to enable higher output power when compared to the conventional VECSEL cavity geometry. In this configuration, we demonstrate a pulse duration of 195fs with an average power of 225mW per output beam at a repetition rate of 2.2GHz, giving a peak power of 460W per beam. The remarkable robustness of the modelocking regime is discussed and a rigorous pulse characterization is presented.

High-power, single-frequency, narrow-linewidth lasers emitting at tailored wavelength are desired for many applications, especially for precision spectroscopy. By way of a free-space resonator, optically pumped semiconductor lasers (OPSLs), a.k.a. vertical external-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VECSELs), can provide near diffraction-limited, high-quality Gaussian beams and are scalable in output power. Free space resonators also allow the insertion of the birefringent filter and the etalon to enforce single-frequency operation. In addition, the emission wavelengths of OPSLs are tailorable through bandgap engineering. These advantages above make OPSL a strong candidate of laser sources for spectroscopic applications including atomic spectroscopy as well as optical lattice clocks. In this research, a single-frequency laser source with high power is demonstrated by applying the injection-locking technique on OPSLs for the first time. The behaviors of the injection-locked OPSL are studied by varying parameters such as output coupling, injection wavelengths and injection power. It was found that the best injection wavelength is by approximately 2 nm shorter than the free-running slave laser at any given pump power. Below the lasing threshold for free-running operation, the laser starts the stimulated emission process as soon as it is pumped, working as a resonant amplifier. With proper parameters, the output power of the injection-locked laser exceeds the output power of its free-running condition. Over 9 W of single-frequency output power at 1015 nm is achieved. The output beam is near-diffraction-limited with Mₓ² = 1.04 and My² = 1.02. By analyzing the surface photoluminescence (PL) and the output performance of the laser, the saturation intensity of OPSLs is estimated to be 100 kW/cm² when the passive loss of 1.4% is assumed. The injection-locked system adds fairly low phase noise to that of the master laser. By measuring the beat note between the master laser and the injection-locked laser, the RMS values of the phase noise are 0.112 rad and 0.081 rad when using the T = 3% and T = 4% output couplers respectively.