| Summary: | We report on the first passively mode-locked femtosecond-laser operation of a disordered Yb:Ca<sub>3</sub>Gd<sub>2</sub>(BO<sub>3</sub>)<sub>4</sub> crystal using a SEmiconductor Saturable Absorber Mirror (SESAM). Pumping with a single-transverse mode fiber-coupled laser diode at 976 nm, nearly Fourier-transform-limited pulses as short as 96 fs are generated at 1045 nm with an average output power of 205 mW and a pulse repetition rate of ~67.3 MHz. In the continuous-wave regime, high slope efficiency up to 59.2% and low laser thresholds down to 25 mW are obtained. Continuous wavelength tuning between 1006–1074 nm (a tuning range of 68 nm) is demonstrated. Yb:Ca<sub>3</sub>Gd<sub>2</sub>(BO<sub>3</sub>)<sub>4</sub> crystals are promising for the development of ultrafast lasers at ~1 μm.
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