Singly resonant continuous-wave optical parametric oscillator pumped by a diode laser

We report on what is believed to be the first singly resonant cw optical parametric oscillator (SRO) that is directly pumped by a diode laser. The SRO consists of a 38-mm-long periodically poled LiNbO(3) crystal in a four-mirror signal-resonant ring cavity. Pumped by 2.5 W of 925-nm diode-laser radiation, the SRO generates 480 mW of single-frequency idler radiation at 2.1mum . The wavelengths of the signal and the idler output are tuned in the ranges of 1.55 to 1.70mum and 2.03 to 2.29mum, respectively, by tuning the wavelength of the diode laser from 924.0 to 925.4 nm.     

Fiber-laser-pumped continuous-wave singly resonant optical parametric oscillator

We report on what is to our knowledge the first continuous-wave (cw) optical parametric oscillator (OPO) that is pumped by a tunable fiber laser. The OPO is singly resonant for the signal wave and consists of a 40-mm-long periodically poled LiNbO(3) crystal in a four-mirror ring cavity. At a pump power of 8.3 W provided by the wavelength-tunable Yb-doped fiber laser, the singly resonant OPO generates 1.9 W of 3200-nm cw idler radiation. The singly resonant OPO was tuned from 1515 to 1633 nm (signal) and from 3057 to 3574 nm (idler) by means of the crystal temperature and poling period. We obtained a wide idler tuning range, from 2980 to 3700 mn, by tuning the wavelength of the fiber laser from 1032 to 1095 nm.     

Low-pump-threshold continuous-wave singly resonant optical parametric oscillator

We describe a compact all-solid-state continuous-wave singly resonant optical parametric oscillator (SRO) with a minimal pump-power requirement. The SRO is based on periodically poled LiNbO(3) as the nonlinear material and is pumped by a 1-W diode-pumped Nd:YVO(4) minilaser at 1.064 microm . By exploiting the intracavity pumping technique in a 50-mm crystal, we have achieved SRO operation threshold at a diode pump power of only 310 mW.At 1 W of input diode power, the SRO delivers 70 mW of output power in the nonresonant idler at 3.66 microm , at a photon conversion efficiency of 55%. Multiparameter tuning of the SRO yields a signal wavelength range from 1.45 to 1.60 microm and an idler wavelength range from 3.16 to 4.02 microm in the mid infrared. The device is characterized by robust turnkey operation and long-term amplitude-stable performance.     

Doubly resonant continuous-wave optical parametric oscillator pumped by a single-mode diode laser

The performance characteristics of a doubly (signal and idler) resonant continuous-wave optical parametric oscillator based on periodically poled lithium niobate and pumped by a 100-mW single-mode laser diode at 810 nm are reported. Pump power thresholds as low as 16 mW and wavelength tuning over the range 1.15-1.25 microm at the signal and 2.31-2.66 microm at the idler were achieved through variation of crystal temperature, pump wavelength, and grating period. Up to 5 mW of signal output was obtained with the single-mode diode pump, and signal powers of up to 39 mW were obtained when pumping with a 400-mW injection-locked broad-area diode laser.     

Rapidly tunable continuous-wave optical parametric oscillator pumped by a fiber laser

We report on rapid, all-electronically controlled wavelength tuning of a continuous-wave (cw) optical parametric oscillator (OPO) pumped by an ytterbium fiber laser. The OPO is singly resonant for the signal wave and consists of a 40-mm-long periodically poled lithium niobate crystal in a four-mirror ring cavity. By tuning of the fiber-laser wavelength over 33 nm through an intracavity acousto-optic tunable filter, the OPO idler wavelength is tuned from 3160 to 3500 nm in 330 micros, corresponding to an idler frequency-tuning speed of 28 THz/ms. At a fiber-laser power of 6.6 W at 1074 nm, the singly resonant OPO generates 1.13-W cw idler radiation at 3200 nm.     

中红外连续波单谐振光学参量振荡器热致相位失配

为了研究热致相位失配对中红外连续波单谐振光学参量振荡器(CW-SRO)输出效率的影响, 结合CW-SRO计算模型和热传导方程,利用有限元分析方法,重点对输出3.3 m波长闲频光的CW-SRO进行了分析。计算了不同信号光输出耦合率及不同泵浦功率下CW-SRO晶体输出截面上热致相位失配量的分布。由计算结果可以看出:晶体吸收腔中振荡信号光是导致晶体热效应的主要因素;在相同的输入条件下,泵浦功率在30 W以上时CW-SRO的热致相位失配将会大大降低其泵浦损耗率;通过增加信号光输出耦合率的方法,可以减少热致相位失配对CW-SRO输出效率的影响,但CW-SRO的振荡阈值会增加。     

中红外连续波单谐振光学参量振荡器热致相位失配

为了研究热致相位失配对中红外连续波单谐振光学参量振荡器(CW-SRO)输出效率的影响, 结合CW-SRO计算模型和热传导方程,利用有限元分析方法,重点对输出3.3 m波长闲频光的CW-SRO进行了分析。计算了不同信号光输出耦合率及不同泵浦功率下CW-SRO晶体输出截面上热致相位失配量的分布。由计算结果可以看出：晶体吸收腔中振荡信号光是导致晶体热效应的主要因素;在相同的输入条件下,泵浦功率在30 W以上时CW-SRO的热致相位失配将会大大降低其泵浦损耗率;通过增加信号光输出耦合率的方法,可以减少热致相位失配对CW-SRO输出效率的影响,但CW-SRO的振荡阈值会增加。     

2.5-GHz repetition-rate singly resonant optical parametric oscillator synchronously pumped by a mode-locked diode oscillator amplifier system

We report on an optical parametric oscillator (OPO) that is synchronously pumped directly by a diode laser. This laser is an actively mode-locked master-oscillator power-amplifier system that produces 20-ps pulses at 927 nm with a repetition rate of 2.5 GHz and an average power of 0.9 W. The OPO, which is a singly resonant device based on periodically poled lithium niobate, generates 7.8-ps pulses. The OPO threshold is 300 mW of average pump power, and the maximum average idler output power is 78 mW at a wavelength of 2100 nm. By changing the crystal temperature we can wavelength tune the output in the ranges 1530-1737 nm (signal) and 1986-2348 nm (idler). Rapid wavelength tuning of the OPO over 46 nm (signal) and 74 nm (idler) is achieved through tuning the cavity length over 28 microm by use of a piezoelectric transducer.     

Efficient continuous-wave eye-safe region signal output from intra-cavity singly resonant optical parametric oscillator

We report an efficient continuous-wave (CW) tunable intra-cavity singly resonant optical parametric oscillator based on the multi-period periodically poled lithium niobate and using a laser diode (LD) end-pumped CW 1064 nm Nd:YVO₄ laser as the pump source. A highly efficiency CW operation is realized through a careful cavity design for mode matching and thermal stability. The signal tuning range is 1401-1500 nm obtained by varying the domain period. The maximum output power of 2.2 W at 1500 nm is obtained with a 17.1 W 808 nm LD power and the corresponding conversion efficiency is 12.9%.     

Microsecond pulsed optical parametric oscillator pumped by a Q-switched fiber laser

We report on what is to our knowledge the first optical parametric oscillator (OPO) pumped by microsecond pulses from a wavelength-tunable solid-state laser. The singly resonant OPO (SRO) is based on a periodically poled LiNbO3 crystal and pumped with 2.1-micros-long pulses from an actively Q-switched Yb fiber laser. At an average fiber laser power of 3.6 W, the SRO generates 1.9-micros-long pulses with a repetition rate of 25 kHz and an average power of 560 mW at 3360 nm. The SRO was tuned from 1518 to 1634 nm (signal) and from 3145 to 3689 nm (idler) via the crystal temperature and poling period. By all-electronic tuning of the fiber laser wavelength over 19 nm, tuning of the mid-infrared idler wavelength over 195 nm was achieved.     

Efficient continuous-wave eye-safe region signal output from intra-cavity singly resonant optical parametric oscillator

We report an efficient continuous-wave (CW) tunable intra-cavity singly resonant optical parametric oscillator based on the multi-period periodically poled lithium niobate and using a laser diode (LD) end-pumped CW 1064 nm Nd:YVO 4 laser as the pump source.A highly efficiency CW operation is realized through a careful cavity design for mode matching and thermal stability.The signal tuning range is 1401-1500 nm obtained by varying the domain period.The maximum output power of 2.2 W at 1500 nm is obtained with a 17.1 W 808 nm LD power and the corresponding conversion efficiency is 12.9%.     

Observation of thermal-induced optical guiding and bistability in a mid-IR continuous-wave, singly resonant optical parametric oscillator

We report the observation of thermal-induced optical guiding and bistability in a mid-IR cw, singly resonant optical parametric oscillator (SRO) at approximately 3.2 microm. The SRO employs a MgO:PPLN crystal as the gain medium and a 1-nm-linewidth Yb-fiber laser at 1.064 microm as the pump source. As soon as the pump power reaches the thermal guiding threshold at 16.5 W, the SRO shows a step increase in the parametric efficiency by a factor of 2.5. At 25 W pump power, the SRO generated 5.3 and 1.2 W at 1.58 and 3.23 microm, respectively, with single-longitudinal-mode performance for the 3.23 microm radiation.     

Self-guided operation of singly resonant continuous-wave optical parametric oscillator based on bulk MgO-doped PPLN

We report on a self-guided operation of a green-pumped singly resonant continuous-wave optical parametric oscillator with a bulk MgO-doped PPLN crystal. It is achieved by increasing the OPO cavity length beyond the stability boundary so that the OPO can only oscillate with formation of a thermally induced waveguide inside the crystal. The effects of the thermal waveguide on the OPO performance are studied by measuring output power characteristics at different cavity lengths. Improvement of spatial mode quality and stability of output power by self-guiding is demonstrated. Measurement of temporal characteristics proves that formation of the waveguide originates from the photo-thermal effect in the nonlinear crystal by absorption of pump power.     

Synchronously pumped optical parametric oscillator driven by a femtosecond mode-locked fiber laser

A femtosecond all-fiber laser source incorporating a cw mode-locked Yb-doped silica fiber oscillator and amplifier has been used to synchronously pump an optical parametric oscillator based on periodically poled lithium niobate. The signal output, consisting of 330-fs pulses at a 54-MHz repetition rate and average powers up to 90 mW, was tuned from 1.55 to 1.95microm , with a corresponding idler range of 2.30-3.31microm .     

Thermal effects in singly resonant continuous-wave optical parametric oscillators

Stability and tuning characteristics of continuous-wave optical parametric oscillators (CW OPOs) are affected by various thermal effects arising from optical absorption in nonlinear crystals. In this paper, we present an experimental study of such effects in a singly resonant CW OPO. The OPO operates in the 3-μm mid-infrared region and it is based on a MgO-doped periodically poled lithium niobate crystal. We focus our study on two thermally induced phenomena that have been recently reported to exist in singly resonant CW OPOs: optical bi-stability and thermal self-locking. Thermal self-locking effect, which is known to alter the stability and tuning properties of doubly and triply resonant CW OPOs, is shown to be also of importance in singly resonant OPOs. We report the stability and tuning characteristics of a thermally loaded OPO and discuss a simple temperature-tuning method that can be used to scan the OPO idler frequency continuously over several THz.     

High-power, continuous-wave, singly resonant optical parametric oscillator based on MgO:sPPLT

We report a high-power, widely tunable, cw singly resonant optical parametric oscillator (OPO) based on MgO:sPPLT. The OPO is pumped in the green by a cw diode-pumped Nd:YVO(4) laser at 532 nm and can provide continuously tunable output across 848-1430 nm. Using a 30 mm crystal and double-pass pumping, an oscillation threshold of 2.88 W has been obtained, and single-pass idler powers in excess of 1.51 W have been generated over 1104-1430 nm for 6W of pump power at an extraction efficiency of 25.2% and photon conversion efficiency of 56.7%.     

Combined wide pump tuning and high power of a continuous-wave, singly resonant optical parametric oscillator

A new singly resonant, single-frequency optical parametric oscillator (OPO) has been developed for the 2.6–4.7 m infrared wavelength region, using a high power (>20 W), widely tunable (1024–1034 nm) Yb:YAG pump source. With the OPO frequency stabilized with an intracavity etalon, the OPO achieved an idler output power of 3 W at 2.954 m. Tuning of the idler frequency was achieved by longitudinal mode-hop tuning of the pump source (FSR 100 MHz). In this way an idler frequency scan of 100–150 GHz could be obtained, after which the signal frequency hops ahead over the FSR of the intracavity etalon of the OPO (207 GHz). Due to un-optimized mirror coatings for the OPO cavity and PPLN crystal, the frequency stability was limited to 90 MHz over 1 s, with an unaffected long-term frequency stability of 250 MHz over 200 seconds. PACS 42.65.Yj; 82.80.Kq; 42.62.Fi     

Microchip laser-pumped continuous-wave doubly resonant optical parametric oscillator

We report what we believe to be the first use of a multilongitudinal-mode frequency-doubled microchip laser to pump a doubly resonant optical parametric oscillator (OPO). This compact OPO is based on potassium titanyl phosphate (KTP) and operates with a low pump power threshold of 35 mW. The OPO output consists of a single pair of signal and idler modes even though it is pumped with a multilongitudinal-mode pump laser. We achieved smooth tuning (1.7 GHz) of the output frequencies by temperature tuning of the pump laser.     

12 W mid-infrared output,singly resonant,continuous-wave optical parametric oscillator pumped by a Yb<Superscript>3+</Superscript>-doped fiber amplifier

We report a continuous-wave singly resonant optical parametric oscillator (SRO) with more than 12 W of idler power at 3414 nm when it was operated at 30°C. The SRO was directly pumped by a single-frequency, ytterbium-doped fiber laser with 49 W linear polarization pump powers, and based on 50 mm long periodically poled MgO:LiNbO₃ crystal (PPMgLN) in two-mirror linear cavity with 30.5 μm grating period. It’s pump power at threshold was 5.4 W. The slope-efficiency and quantum-limited performance reached 26 and 79.2%, respectively. The beam polarization matched the e → e + e interaction in crystal. The idler waves were temperature tuned in the range of 3654 to 3811 nm and 3248 to 3414 nm based on two 50 mm long PPMgLN with 29.5 and 30.5 μm grating period. To the best of our knowledge, this is the highest continuouswave mid-IR output obtained for a fiber laser pumped optical parametric oscillator (OPO).