Abstract: | We report on a theoretical analysis and experiments for bandwidth broadening in quasi-phase-matched (QPM) second-harmonic generation (SHG).We used phase-shifted segments of a periodic grating to obtain a spectrally broadened, nearly flat response simultaneously with high conversion efficiency. We used an x-cut MgO:LiNbO(3) QPM waveguide in our analysis and experiments. The spectral range of the 850-nm fundamental for which SHG conversion exceeded 0.95 of the maximum value broadened from 0.02 to 0.12 nm when a 1-cm-long grating was divided into three segments with optimum phase shift. SHG conversion efficiency was 300%/W for this waveguide. The SHG efficiency and phase-matching characteristics showed good agreement with theoretical results. |