We report the first demonstration to our knowledge of passive mode locking in a diode-pumped Er3+ and Yb3+ codoped YAl3(BO3)4 laser operating in the 1.5-1.6 μm spectral region. Low-loss GaInNAs quantum-well semiconductor saturable absorber mirrors are used for the initiation and stabilization of the ultrashort-pulse generation. Pulses as short as 4.8 ps were generated at 1530 nm ...