The optical parametric oscillator as a means for intracavity absorption spectroscopy

In view of the recent progress in the detection of narrow and weak absorption lines as provided by the intracavity technique which utilizes lasers with broad homogeneous emission lines, it appears to interesting to investigate also other light sources with regard to their suitability for intracavity spectroscopic measurements. A promising candidate is an optical parametric oscillator (OPO) pumped by a one-mode field and oscillating in several signal and idler modes, since, as will be shown, this light source exhibits a strong competition effect which, as known from the laser, gives rise to a drastic enhancement in detection sensitivity. In this paper, we calculate the enhancement factor utilizing a simple OPO model which takes account of the spontaneous production of signal and idler photons (parametric fluorescence). The result is similar to that for a laser operated such that spontaneous emission is the only mechanism which prevents a mode with higher losses to be extinguished. Moreover, the OPO offers a possibility to perform the measurement at a frequency which is complementary (with respect to the pump frequency) to the frequency of the absorption line to be detected.     

Phase Effects of the Parametric Interaction in Metamaterials

We study the phase effects of the three-wave parametric interaction in metamaterials considering the negative refraction at the frequency of a signal wave. We analyze the efficiency of energy conversions between two direct waves with respect to the energy of the backward signal wave along with the dynamics of the signal-wave amplification in metamaterials. We show that there exist optimum values of the fundamental-wave intensity and the phase mismatch at which the efficiency of conversion is maximum. We obtain an analytic expression for the optimum value of the relative length of the metamaterial and present a numerical evaluation of the expected value for efficiency of the frequency parametric conversion in dielectric waveguides. A sufficient enhancement in the signal-wave amplification, which is possible at optimum values of the pump intensity and the metamaterial total length, leads to the parametric generation of the signal wave. Changing the frequency and power of the pump wave, one can realize a regular tuning of the frequencies of parametric converters.     

Noncascading THz-wave parametric oscillator synchronously pumped by mode-locked picosecond Ti:sapphire laser in doubly-resonant external cavity

A noncascading terahertz (THz) wave parametric oscillator synchronously pumped by a mode-locked picosecond Ti:sapphire laser whose average power was less than 1 W was demonstrated with a noncollinear phase-matching MgO:LiNbO₃ crystal in an external enhancement cavity doubly resonant for both pump (780 nm) and signal (781-784 nm) waves. In the external cavity, in which the pump wave enhanced so as to reduce the pumping threshold of parametric processes, the signal wave could also resonate and thus be enhanced simultaneously, resulting in a THz wave output at approximately 0.9 THz as the idler wave. The novel dual enhancement of pump and signal waves reduced the threshold pumping intensity to approximately 50 MW/cm², which was much lower than that of a conventional externally pumped THz wave parametric oscillator with a crystal.     

Greater than 100% photon-conversion efficiency from an optical parametric oscillator with intracavity difference-frequency mixing

Using 100-ps Nd:YAG pump pulses, we synchronously pump an optical parametric oscillator with intracavity difference-frequency mixing (DFM) between the signal and the idler. The cavity is singly resonant at the signal frequency. The signal, idler, and difference wavelengths are near 1.5, 3.5, and 2.8microm , respectively. Periodically poled lithium niobate is used for both interactions. Results show an 80% enhancement in the idler power-conversion efficiency and an idler photon-conversion efficiency of 110% when the DFM interaction is phase matched. Backconversion of the pump is suppressed when the DFM interaction is phase matched, and pump depletion increases from 65% to 79% at full pump power.     

Controllable optical response in hybrid opto-electromechanical systems

We theoretically investigate the analog of electromagnetically induced absorption and parametric amplification in a hybrid opto-electromechanical system consisting of an optical cavity and a microwave cavity coupled to a common mechanical resonator. When the two cavity modes are driven by two pump fields, a weak probe beam is applied to the optical cavity to monitor the optical response of the hybrid system, which can be effectively controlled by adjusting the frequency and power of the two pump fields. We find that the analog of electromagnetically induced absorption and parametric amplification can appear in the probe transmission spectrum when one cavity is pumped on its red sideband and another is pumped on its blue sideband. These phenomena can find potential applications in optical switching and signal amplification in the quantum information process.     

Extended mode-hop-free tuning by use of a dual-cavity, pump-enhanced optical parametric oscillator

We report extended mode-hop-free tuning in a continuous-wave, pump-enhanced optical parametric oscillator (PE-OPO). We employ a dual-cavity configuration to allow independent control of the resonant pump and signal fields, and so we can suppress frequent mode hops in the signal as the pump is tuned in frequency. With the signal field clamped in frequency by an uncoated etalon, the idler field can be scanned smoothly through a range of 10.8 GHz. The PE-OPO outputs can also be tuned coarsely from 1.01 to 1.18 mum in the signal and from 2.71 to 3.26 mum and 4.07 to 5.26 mum in the idler. We find that increased idler absorption only slightly increases the oscillation threshold.     

Robust generation,properties and potential applications of quadratic spatial solitons generated by optical parametric amplification

Quadratic spatial solitary waves are predicted and observed experimentally near degeneracy for Type II optical parametric amplification in bulk KTP, by seeding an intense pump optical field with a control signal at half the pump wave frequency. The self-trapping of light at the two wavelengths has been shown to be insensitive to phase, polarization and magnitude of the control input, and can be exploited in novel schemes for robust all-optical processing.     

Single WDM channel efficient wavelength shifting and/or amplification using counterpropagating optical parametric amplifiers

We theoretically and numerically study the difference frequency generation and the signal amplification bandwidth together with the pump wavelength acceptance for counterpropagating optical parametric amplifiers. It is shown that the specific advantage of those amplifiers is that the DFG and amplification bandwidth is much narrower than in a co-propagating scheme, thus making it possible to shift spectrally or to amplify selectively a single channel over the several present in WDM optical fiber communications. Moreover, the pump wavelength acceptance is shown to be as broad as in the co-propagating scheme. The implementation of such counterpropagating optical parametric amplifiers in a quasi-phase-matched LiNbO3 waveguide is discussed.     

双光子吸收的Franz-Keldysh效应

从实验上证实Hg_0.695Cd_0.305Te 光电二极管空间电荷区中存在双光子吸收的Franz-Keldysh效应.利用一个皮秒Nd:YAG激光器抽运的光学参量产生器和差频产生器作为激发光源,测量了入射波长为λ₀=7.92μm的脉冲激光所激发的光响应随入射光强的变化关系.脉冲光响应峰值强度随入射光强的增大呈现二次幂函数增强趋势.采用等效RC电路模型将脉冲光伏信号峰值与入射光强相关联,得到空间电荷区中强电场下单光束 关键词： Franz-Keldysh效应 碲镉汞 双光子吸收 脉冲光伏信号     

3 μm~5 μm中红外激光辐照石墨烯非线性散射实验研究

为了研究石墨烯器件在中红外波段的光限幅机理,采用化学气相沉积法制备出层数可控的石墨烯薄膜CaF2镜片,并基于MgO∶PPLN周期极化晶体搭建了全固态中红外光学参量振荡器,利用3 m~5 m波长可调谐的闲频光开展了石墨烯薄膜散射实验,测量了石墨烯薄膜的散射信号与入射光强度变化的归一化曲线。当闲频光能量超过1 J/cm2时,石墨烯被迅速汽化,电离形成的微小等离子体和石墨烯微片对入射闲频光产生多重非线性散射,散射能量信号呈现出快速非线性增长趋势,并且散射能量信号值的增长率与闲频光的入射波长成反比,与石墨烯的层数成正比关系,从而验证了石墨烯对中红外波段激光较强的非线性散射使其具有光限幅效应。     

Widely Tunable Middle Infrared Optical Parametric Oscillator Pumped by the Q-Switched Ho:GdVO_4 Laser

We demonstrate a middle infrared ZnGeP_2 optical parametric oscillator pumped by the Q-switched Ho:GdVO_4 laser. When the incident Ho pump power is 4.12 W, the maximum average output power of the ZGP-OPO laser is 2.05 W, corresponding to a slope efficiency of 74.6%. The ZGP-OPO laser produces 4.2 ns mid-infrared pulses at a pulse repetition rate of 5 kHz. In addition, we obtain 0.8 um of tunable range for the signal wave and 2.1 um of tunable range for the idler wave.     

Strong signal suppression in single-pump optical parametric amplifiers

We show that the combined action of parametric gain and Raman scattering can lead to the complete suppression of an input optical signal in a single-pump parametric amplifier. This suppression is due to an interference between the two parametric gain modes. The interference occurs only at a set of discrete combinations of pump power, phase mismatch, and frequency detuning. Experimentally we are able to demonstrate over 95% (13 dB) suppression of an input signal in an amplifier with a peak parametric gain of only 6 dB.     

Tunable fiber-optic parametric oscillator

We report operation of a tunable optical parametric oscillator that employs a nonlinear-fiber Sagnac interferometer as a parametric amplifier. The amplifier, which consists primarily of dispersion-shifted fiber that has zero dispersion at 1538 nm, is synchronously pumped with 7.7-ps pulses at 1539 nm. The wide bandwidth of the parametric gain permits tuning of the output signal pulses over a 40-nm range centered on the pump wavelength. The Sagnac interferometer decouples the pump wave from the oscillator cavity while a bandpass filter in the cavity transmits only the signal wave, thereby creating a singly resonant parametric oscillator that is phase insensitive. Whereas we demonstrate tuning over almost the entire bandwidth of Er-doped-fiber amplifiers, one could construct a similar device that operates near the 1310-nm zero-dispersion wavelength of standard telecommunication fiber.     

金属光栅用于增强非晶硅薄膜太阳能电池光吸收率研究

提高太阳能电池光电转换效率的一个重要途径就是提高它的光子吸收能力。在传统非晶硅薄膜太阳能电池中加入了金属光栅,设计出一种新的复合电池结构。基于严格耦合波分析矢量衍射理论计算了该结构的吸收光谱和增强因子;讨论了光栅宽度、入射光角度和入射光偏振态对吸收的影响。结果显示,设计的太阳能电池结构能够显著提高光的吸收率,在TM偏振光入射条件下,该结构的吸收增强因子最高可达40%;在其他偏振态光线入射时,其吸收增强因子也可达到16%左右。     

Amplification of fluorescence using collinear picosecond optical parametric amplification at degeneracy

We demonstrate the output characteristic of broadband parametric amplification of incoherent light pulses in a 355-nm pumped degenerate picosecond optical parametric amplification with either saturated or unsaturated amplification.The optical parametric amplifier is seeded by the fluorescence generated in a solution of pyridine-1 dye in ethanol.With the saturated amplification,we can obtain high energy incoherent light pulses,whose full width at half maximum bandwidth varies from 16 nm to 53 nm for the different phase matching angles near degeneracy.Moreover,the unsaturated bandwidth of the amplified pulses fits well to the calculated result at degeneracy.Selecting s-polarized fluorescence with a Glan-Taylor prism,the maximum bandwidth of the amplified fluorescence is found to be 59 nm for a purely s-polarized seed.The maximum output energy is 0.67 mJ for the optical parametric amplifier.By using an optical filter and compressor,the generated high energy incoherent light has great potential as the incoherent pump,signal or idler wave of a parametric down-conversion process,so that a wave with a high degree of coherence can be generated from an incoherent pump light.     

高性能85mm短腔光学参变振荡器的THz电磁波输出特性分析

报道了以MgO∶LiNbO3为非线性光学介质,采用85 mm长的法布里珀罗单谐振腔结构形式的光学参变振荡器,产生THz电磁波的实验结果。使用波长为1064 nm的Nd∶YAGQ开关脉冲激光器作为抽运光源,通过改变入射角度使参变振荡器的相位匹配条件发生变化。采用Si真空量热器,并利用THz波干涉测量仪;或通过测量闲频光的频率对产生的THz波频率进行了测量。实验表明该参变振荡器输出频率调谐范围为0.9~3.0 THz。在抽运光能量为20 mJ/pulse,脉冲宽度16 ns,重复频率50 Hz条件下得到输出峰值位于1.2 THz,能量为102.5 PJ/pulse的THz波输出。通过引入Si棱镜阵列减小了THz波在晶体中的全反射,从而提高THz波的能量输出。使用金属缝隙探测器,对辐射的THz波的波束水平方向空间分布进行了测量,分析了Si棱镜阵列的衍射效应对THz波束空间分布的影响。     

Frequency-stable operation of a diode-pumped continuous-wave RbTiOAsO(4) optical parametric oscillator

Frequency-stable operation of a diode-pumped continuous-wave optical parametric oscillator (OPO) of RbTiOAsO(4) is demonstrated. Piezoelectric and fast electro-optic control of the optical length of the two-mirror OPO cavity (resonant for the pump and the idler waves) compensates for thermal changes in the refractive index of the OPO crystal (induced by absorption of pump light) and acoustic perturbations of the cavity length. Pumped by 405mW of the 810-nm output of a GaAlAs masterf-oscillator-tapered-amplifier diode laser system, the OPO generates a power-stable single-frequency signal wave at 1.24microm with an output of 84mW and a spectral bandwidth of less than 10MHz.     

Femtosecond parametric generation in ZnGeP(2)

We report traveling-wave optical parametric generation in short (2-mm) ZnGeP(2) samples with reduced anomalous absorption, using femtosecond pump pulses near 2 mum . The signal and the idler waves generated could be tuned from 2.5 to 10 mum , and they extend the tunability of the beta-barium borate optical parametric generator used as a pump source to the mid-infrared. At a single-pass internal conversion efficiency of 2.5% we estimate pulse durations of 75 fs (signal near 3 mum) and 200 fs (idler near 6 mum).     

Der optische parametrische Oszillator. II. Amplitudenfluktuationen der Strahlung bei durchlaufender Pumpwelle

Amplitude fluctuations of the signal wave of an optical parametric oscillator are evaluated for the case of nonresonant pumping by calculating the decrease of a random deviation ε of the signal amplitude from its stationary value during a round trip through the (ring) resonator. From this, a damping term governing the temporal behaviour of ε is deduced which, together with a Langevin force connected with the spontaneous decay of pump photons into both signal and idler photons, determines the amplitude fluctuations of the signal wave. In addition, it is shown that the same results may be obtained from a mode formalism for signal and idler waves taking into account the spatial variation of the pump wave following from Maxwell's equations.