Low-threshold singly-resonant continuous-wave optical parametric oscillator based on MgO-doped PPLN

We present a 532 nm-pumped singly-resonant cw optical parametric oscillator based on MgO-doped PPLN with a minimum threshold pump power of 0.3 W. The OPO with a two-mirror standing-wave cavity is optimized by using a tunable diode laser on the path of the resonant signal beam. The maximum output power is 200 mW at an idler wavelength near 1330 nm at a pump power of 2 W. We report the degradation of the output power and beam characteristics at high pump power indicating a strong thermal lensing in the crystal. The continuous tuning range of the OPO is measured to be 800 MHz which is close to 90% of the free spectral range of the OPO cavity.     

High-power synchronously pumped AgGaS(2) optical parametric oscillator

Greater than 2 W of average power was generated in the infrared region by a AgGaS(2) optical parametric oscillator (OPO). A Q -switched mode-locked laser was used to pump the OPO synchronously. Tunability from 1.4 to 1.9mum and a maximum output power of 750 mW at 1.44mum were achieved with a standing-wave cavity. Redesigning the cavity into a ring configuration allowed the depleted pump, signal, and idler beams to be extracted efficiently through separate mirrors. This design generated signal and idler beams of high spatial quality at respective power levels of 1.5 and 620 mW at a pulse repetition rate of 2 kHz.     

Dual-wavelength, two-crystal, continuous-wave optical parametric oscillator

We report a cw optical parametric oscillator (OPO) in a novel architecture comprising two nonlinear crystals in a single cavity, providing two independently tunable pairs of signal and idler wavelengths. Based on a singly resonant oscillator design, the device permits access to arbitrary signal and idler wavelength combinations within the parametric gain bandwidth and reflectivity of the OPO cavity mirrors. Using two identical 30 mm long MgO:sPPLT crystals in a compact four-mirror ring resonator pumped at 532 nm, we generate two pairs of signal and idler wavelengths with arbitrary tuning across 850-1430 nm, and demonstrate a frequency separation in the resonant signal waves down to 0.55 THz. Moreover, near wavelength-matched condition, coherent energy coupling between the resonant signal waves, results in reduced operation threshold and increased output power. A total output power >2.8 W with peak-to-peak power stability of 16% over 2 h is obtained.     

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

Stable, high-power, second-harmonic-generation (SHG) of a compact CW Ytterbium (Yb) fiber laser at 1064 nm into the green and its use as a pump source for CW singly-resonant optical parametric oscillator (SRO) is demonstrated. Using a simple single-pass SHG configuration in MgO:sPPLT, as much as 9.6 W of single-frequency green radiation at 532 nm is generated from 30 W of fundamental power at a conversion efficiency of 32.7% in a Gaussian spatial profile with a beam quality factor of M ² < 1.3. Thermal effects have been investigated at different fundamental power levels and various thermal management schemes are employed to maximize the second-harmonic power. The green source is successfully deployed to pump a CW SRO tunable over 855–1408 nm, generating up to 2.1 W of idler at 1168 nm. The peak-to-peak idler power stability is better than 10.7% over 40 min, with beam quality factor M ² < 1.26 for the idler and M ² < 1.52 for the signal.     

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.     

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.     

Optimally-output-coupled, 17.5 W,fiber-laser-pumped continuous-wave optical parametric oscillator

We present a stable, high-power, fiber-laser-pumped, continuous-wave (cw), singly resonant optical parametric oscillator (SRO) for the mid-infrared in an output-coupled (OC) configuration, providing 17.5 W of total output power at 61% extraction efficiency. Using a single-frequency, cw Yb fiber laser at 1064 nm and a 50-mm-long MgO:PPLN crystal, through optimization of signal output coupling we generate up to 9.8 W of signal power in the near-infrared together with 7.7 W of idler power for 28.6 W of pump, while in the absence of output coupling, 8.6 W of idler power is generated for the same pump power at 30% efficiency. The SRO is tunable over 360 nm in the idler range. The deployment of signal output coupling results in a total tuning of 513 nm (120 nm of signal, 393 nm of idler) over which watt-level output power can be extracted. Through careful control of thermal effects we achieve a long-term peak-to-peak idler power stability of 5% over 14 hours near room temperature. The output beams have TEM₀₀ spatial profile with M ²<1.28 for the idler and M ²<1.37 for the signal.     

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.     

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.     

Low-threshold femtosecond optical parametric oscillator based on chirped-pulse frequency conversion

We report what is to our knowledge the first demonstration of a femtosecond optical parametric oscillator based on chirped-pulse frequency conversion in a long crystal of aperiodically poled potassium titanyl phosphate. The minimum pump threshold power was 15 mW, and a signal slope efficiency of 35% was achieved. Continuous tuning from 1190 to 1450 nm was obtained for an average pump power of 800 mW.     

连续波光参量振荡器定向红外干扰

介绍了基于光纤激光器泵浦的光学参量振荡器发展现状及其在定向红外干扰技术中的应用前景,对定向红外干扰技术的一些基本原理进行了讨论。利用自研的一台基于光纤激光器泵浦的连续波光学参量振荡器,通过周期调谐的方式分别实现3.414,3.630和3.820 m的瓦级中红外激光输出。采用这3个波长的激光对中红外热像仪进行了干扰原理性实验。对比实验结果可以得出:对于3.820 m波长的中红外激光,当其辐照的HgCdTe探测器前功率密度大于10 W/cm2量级时,在传输750 m距离后,热像仪实现饱和效果并且非饱和区域图像灰度级发生较大变化,达到了掩盖有用信号的目的。     

连续波光参量振荡器定向红外干扰

介绍了基于光纤激光器泵浦的光学参量振荡器发展现状及其在定向红外干扰技术中的应用前景,对定向红外干扰技术的一些基本原理进行了讨论。利用自研的一台基于光纤激光器泵浦的连续波光学参量振荡器,通过周期调谐的方式分别实现3.414,3.630和3.820 m的瓦级中红外激光输出。采用这3个波长的激光对中红外热像仪进行了干扰原理性实验。对比实验结果可以得出:对于3.820 m波长的中红外激光,当其辐照的HgCdTe探测器前功率密度大于10 W/cm2量级时,在传输750 m距离后,热像仪实现饱和效果并且非饱和区域图像灰度级发生较大变化,达到了掩盖有用信号的目的。     

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。     

High-resolution Doppler-free molecular spectroscopy with a continuous-wave optical parametric oscillator

We present a reliable, narrow-linewidth (100-kHz) continous-wave optical parametric oscillator (OPO) suitable for high-resolution spectroscopy applications. The singly resonant OPO with a resonated pump is based on periodically poled lithium niobate crystal and features a specially designed intracavity etalon, which permits precise tuning to any desired wavelength in a wide range. We demonstrate Doppler-free spectroscopy of a rovibrational transition of methane at 3.39 mum.     

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。     

Electro-optic spectral tuning in a continuous-wave, asymmetric-duty-cycle, periodically poled LiNbO(3) optical parametric oscillator

We demonstrate electro-optic spectral tuning in a continuous-wave periodically poled LiNbO(3) (PPLN) optical parametric oscillator (OPO). We achieve 8.91 cm(-1) of rapid spectral tuning, with a linear tuning rate of 2.89 cm(-1) /(kV/mm), by applying electric fields up to +/-1.5 kV/mm across the crystal while it is operating within the OPO. Intentionally poling the PPLN crystal with an asymmetric domain structure enables tuning, and numerical predictions closely match the experimental observations. The tuning is considerably larger than the typical operational bandwidth of the OPO, indicating that we are in fact shifting the gain curve of the PPLN crystal.     

High-power, continuous-wave, mid-infrared optical parametric oscillator based on MgO:sPPLT

We report a stable, high-power, cw, mid-IR optical parametric oscillator using MgO-doped stoichiometric periodically poled LiTaO? (MgO:sPPLT) pumped by a Yb fiber laser at 1064 nm. The singly resonant oscillator (SRO), based on a 30 mm long crystal, is tunable over 430 nm from 3032 to 3462 nm and can generate as much as 5.5 W of mid-IR output power, with >4 W of over 60% of the tuning range and under reduced thermal effects, enabling room temperature operation. Idler power scaling measurements at ~3.3 μm are compared with an MgO-doped periodically poled LiNbO? cw SRO, confirming that MgO:sPPLT is an attractive material for multiwatt mid-IR generation. The idler output at 3299 nm exhibits a peak-to-peak power stability better than 12.8% over 5 h and frequency stability of ~1 GHz, while operating close to room temperature, and has a linewidth of ~0.2 nm, limited by the resolution of the wavemeter. The corresponding signal linewidth at 1570 nm is ~21 MHz.     

Carrier-phase control among subharmonic pulses in a femtosecond optical parametric oscillator

We have generated femtosecond subharmonic pulses by using an optical parametric oscillator. The optical frequencies of the idler and the signal are one third and two thirds, respectively, of the optical frequency of the pump pulse. The carrier phase of the signal pulse relative to that of the pump pulse was locked by electronic feedback. The carrier-envelope phase slip frequency of the signal pulse relative to that of the pump was locked to F/6 , where F is defined as the repetition frequency.     

Tunable,continuous-wave single-resonant optical parametric oscillator with output coupling for resonant wave

We present a continuous-wave singly-resonant optical parametric oscillator with 1.5% output coupling of the resonant signal wave, based on an angle-polished Mg O-doped periodically poled lithium niobate(Mg O:PPLN), pumped by a commercial Nd:YVO4laser at 1064 nm. The output-coupled optical parametric oscillator delivers a maximum total output power of 4.19 W with 42.8% extraction efficiency, across a tuning range of 1717 nm in the near- and mid-infrared region.This indicates improvements of 1.87 W in output power, 19.1% in extraction efficiency and 213 nm in tuning range extension in comparison with the optical parametric oscillator with no output coupling, while at the expense of increasing the oscillation threshold by a factor of ～ 2. Moreover, it is confirmed that the finite output coupling also contributes to the reduction of the thermal effects in crystal.     

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%.