A passively mode-locked 
solid-state 
laser is designed to emit a continuous-
wave train (51, 52) of electromagnetic-
radiation pulses, the fundamental repetition rate of the emitted pulses exceeding 1 GHz, without Q-switching instabilities. The 
laser includes an optical 
resonator (3.1), a 
solid-state 
laser gain element (2) placed inside the optical 
resonator (3.1), a device (1) for exciting said laser 
gain element (2) to emit 
electromagnetic radiation having the effective 
wavelength, and a device (4) for passive 
mode locking including a saturable absorber. The laser 
gain element (2) is a laser material with a 
stimulated emission cross section exceeding 0.8×10−18 cm2 at the effective 
wavelength, and is made of Nd:
vanadate. The saturable absorber (4) is preferably a 
semiconductor saturable absorber mirror (SESAM) device. Even higher repetition rates are achieved by operating the laser in the 
soliton regime. For use in 
fiber-optical telecommunication, the laser 
wavelength is preferably shifted to 1.5 μm by use of an 
optical parametric oscillator. The laser is simple, robust, compact, efficient, and low-cost. It generates a relatively large average power of 100 mW and higher, which is useful for a number of 
optical probing and detection applications, in a beam (51, 52) that is substantially a fundamental spatial mode.