1.8 μm optical parametric oscillator based on KTiOPO4

A 1.8 ??m optical parametric oscillator pumped by a diode end-pumped acousto-optically Q-switched Nd:YAG is demonstrated. A 30-mm-long KTiOPO₄ crystal cut with an angle of ?? = 59.4°, ?? = 0° is employed as the OPO crystal. 685 mW signal laser at 1.8 ??m is obtained at the diode pump power of 13 W and the pulse repetition rate of 25 kHz. Simultaneously, 265 mW idler emission at 2.6 ??m is obtained. The corresponded diode-to-OPO conversion efficiency is 7.3%. The pulse width of the signal and idler wave are measured to be 4.5 and 2.5 ns, respectively. This gives a peak power of 6.1 and 4.2 kW, respectively.     

Electro-optically Q-switched high-repetition-rate1.73 μm optical parametric oscillator

We demonstrate a potassium titanyl phosphate-based optical parametric oscillator(OPO) emitting at 1729 nm.A maximum output power of 1.56 W at 1729.4 nm is obtained with an original fundamental laser power of5.48 W. The pulse with a pulse duration of 11.22 ns exceeds 3 m J at a 500 Hz repetition rate. To our knowledge this is the highest energy output of an OPO laser emitting around 1.73 μm operating at a 100 Hz order of magnitude. This laser is primarily used for bond-selective imaging of deep tissue, a promising way for diagnosing vulnerable plaques in live patients.     

Fiber parametric oscillator for the 2 μm wavelength range based on narrowband optical parametric amplification

We describe a widely tunable synchronously pumped coherent source based on the process of narrowband parametric amplification in a dispersion-shifted fiber. Using an experimental fiber with a zero-dispersion wavelength of 1590 nm and pump wavelengths of 1530 to 1570 nm yields oscillations at 1970 to 2140 nm-the longest reported wavelength for a fiber parametric oscillator. The long-wavelength oscillations are accompanied by simultaneous short-wavelength oscillations at 1200 to 1290 nm. The parametric gain is coupled to stimulated Raman scattering. For parametric oscillations close to the Raman gain peak, the two gain processes must be discriminated from each other. We devised two configurations that achieve this discrimination: one is based on the exploitation of the difference in group delay between the wavelengths where Raman and parametric gain peak, and the other uses intracavity polarization tuning.     

3–5 μm AgGaS2 optical parametric oscillator with prism cavity

Employing a coated right-angled sapphire prism as the OPO cavity mirror, AgGaS₂ type-I singly resonant optical parametric oscillator was demonstrated experimentally, which was pumped by a ns 1.064 μm Nd:YAG laser. Continuously tunable 2.35 to 5.27 μm radiation without changing cavity mirrors and maximum output energy 0.58 mJ per pulse are recorded.     

Injection-seeded single frequency 2.05 μm output by ring cavity optical parametric oscillator

An injection-seeded single-resonant optical parametric oscillator(SROPO) with single frequency nanosecond pulsed 2.05 μm wavelength output is presented. Based on two potassium titanyl phosphate crystals and pumped by a 1064 nm single frequency laser pulse, injection seeding is performed successfully by using the ramp-hold-fire technique in a ring cavity with a bow-tie configuration. The SROPO provides 2.65 m J single frequency signal pulse output with a 17.6 ns pulse duration at a 20 Hz repetition rate. A near-diffraction-limited beam is achieved with a beam quality factor M~2 of about 1.2. The spectrum linewidth of the signal pulse is around 26.4 MHz,which is almost the Fourier-transform-limited value.     

An efficient intracavity-pumped KTP optical parametric oscillator at 1572 nm

We demonstrate an efficient and eye-safe wavelength intracavity optical parametric oscillator (OPO), based on a KTP crystal inside a Q-switched Nd:YVO4 laser end pumped by a fiber-coupled diode laser. In the acousto-optic Q-switched operation with the pulse repetition rate of 10 kHz, a 1572-nm eye-safe laser with the average power of 237 mW at the incident pump power of 5.64 W is obtained. Under the pulse repetition rate of 5 kHz, the signal light with pulse width of 2 ns and peak power of 18.5 kW is achieved. The conversion efficiency of the average power is 4.2% from pump diode to OPO signal output and the signal pulse duration is about 13 times shorter than that of the depleted pump light.     

High average power 2 μm generation using an intracavity PPMgLN optical parametric oscillator

An intracavity quasi-phase-matched optical parametric oscillator (OPO) has been developed for the purpose of generating radiation with high average power and high repetition rate in the 2 μm regime. The device is a degenerate OPO based on a 3 mm thick MgO-doped periodically poled LiNbO(3) (PPMgLN) crystal, which is pumped in turn within the cavity by a diode side-pumped, Q-switched 1 μm Nd:YAG laser operating at 10 kHz. Up to 20 W broadband 2 μm radiation can be generated with a compact configuration under the crystal temperature of 115 °C. The beam profile is close to circularly symmetric with M(2) ~ 10.     

Saturation spectroscopy of CO2 and frequency stabilization of an optical parametric oscillator at 2.77 μm

We report the frequency stabilization of a CW single-frequency, singly resonant optical parametric oscillator (OPO) to the saturation absorption center of the (12)C(16)O2[10°1,02°1](II)>←00°0 P(14) line at 2.77 μm. The CO2 molecules were excited by the OPO idler wave, and the absorption signal was monitored through the fluorescence at 4.3 μm using a gold-coated longitudinal cell. The idler frequency was stabilized onto the line center by wavelength modulation method. The linewidth of the saturation dip was estimated to be 4.7 MHz, and the achieved frequency stability was 3.9 kHz (3.6×10(-11)).     

High efficiency double-pass-pumped 2 μm periodically poled MgO:LiNbO3 optical parametric oscillator

A high efficiency near-degenerate periodically poled MgO:LiNbO₃ optical parametric oscillator pumped by a nanosecond Nd:YVO₄ laser is demonstrated. Under a 1.064 ??m pump power of 7.2 W, an output power of 5.3 W with an optical-to-optical conversion efficiency of 74% and a slope efficiency of 82% in the 2 ??m region is obtained in a double-pass-pumped doubly resonant geometry at 20 kHz repetition rate.     

Widely continuous-tunable 2.789-4.957 μm twin- MgO：PPLN cascaded optical parametric oscillator

An all-solid-state mid-infrared optical parametric oscillator with wide tunability by using two identical multi-grating periodically poled 5-mol.-% MgO-doped lithium niobate cascaded is reported. The pump laser is an acousto-optically Q-switched Nd：YAG laser with 150-ns pulse width at repetition rate of 10 kHz. Wide tunability from 2.789 to 4.957μm at the idler wavelength is achieved by varying the temperature from 40 to 200 ~C and translating the grating periods from 26 to 31 μm with a step of 0.5μm. When the incident pump average power is 8.15 W, the maximum idler output average power is 2.23 W at 3.344 μm and the optic-optic conversion efficiency is about 27.4%.     

Compact and tunable mid-infrared source based on a 2 μm dual-wavelength KTiOPO4 intracavity optical parametric oscillator

Using a double resonant KTiOPO 4 (KTP) intracavity optical parametric oscillator operating at degenerated point of 2 μm,we demonstrate a unique mid-infrared source based on difference frequency generation in GaSe crystal.The output tuning range is 8.42-19.52 μm,and a peak power of 834 W for type-I phase matching scheme and 730 W for type-II phase matching scheme are achieved.Experimental results show that this oscillator is a good alternative to the generator of a compact and tabletop mid-infrared radiation with a widely tunable range.     

Efficient 1.8 μm KTiOPO4 optical parametric oscillator pumped within an Nd:YAG/SrWO4 Raman laser

A 1.8?μm optical parametric oscillator (OPO) based on a noncritically phase-matched KTiOPO4 crystal is demonstrated. OPO and stimulated Raman scattering techniques are successfully combined in an acousto-optically Q-switched Nd:YAG/SrWO4 Raman laser. The device efficiently realizes three steps of conversion: from a laser diode wavelength of 808?nm to the fundamental wavelength of 1064?nm; next, to the Stokes wavelength of 1180?nm; and finally to the OPO signal wavelength of 1810?nm. With an incident diode power of 7.2?W and a pulse repetition rate of 15?kHz, an average signal power of 485?mW is obtained with a diode-to-signal conversion efficiency of 6.75%. The beam quality factors (M2) of the signal wave in both horizontal and vertical directions are measured to be 1.7±0.2. The numerical output power results of the system, the thermal lensing, and the stability parameter of the cavity are also discussed.     

High-peak-power, high-repetition-rate intracavity optical parametric oscillator at 1.57μm

We report a high-peak-power, high-repetition-rate diode-side-pumped Nd:YAG Q-switched intracavity optical parametric oscillator (IOPO) at 1.57μm with a type-Ⅱnon-critically phase-matched x-cut KTP crystal. The average power of 1.15 W at 1.57μm is obtained at 4.3-kHz repetition rate. The peak power of the pulses amounts to 33.4 kW with 8-ns duration. The average conversion efficiency from Q-switched 1.064-μm-wavelength input power to OPO signal output power is up to 10.5%.     

Efficient all-solid-state mid-infrared optical parametric oscillator based on resonantly pumped 1.645 μm Er:YAG laser

We first report an all-solid-state tunable mid-infrared singly resonant optical parametric oscillator based on a 1532 nm laser diode resonantly pumped, Q-switched 1.645 μm Er:YAG laser. An MgO-doped periodically poled lithium niobate was used as the nonlinear material. At the pulse repetition frequency of 2 KHz, a maximum overall average output power of 0.95 W with pump power of 2.8 W was achieved, corresponding to a conversion efficiency of 34% and a slope efficiency of 38%. The temperature tuning was performed giving signal and idler ranges of 2.67 to 2.71 μm and 4.18 to 4.31 μm, respectively.     

High-energy PPMgLN optical parametric oscillator pumped by a 1.064 μm E-O Q-Switched Nd:YAG laser

A high-energy PPMgLN optical parametric oscillator (OPO) pumped by a E-O Q-switched Nd:YAG laser working at 1.064 μm was successfully illustrated. A maximum output pulse energy of 3.4 mJ was obtained with a pump threshold of 1.5 mJ and a slope efficiency of 30% around room temperature. The OPO output signal and idler wavelength were 1552 and 3384 nm, respectively. The damage to the input surface of PPMgLN crystal was carefully observed with a damage threshold of 4.6 J/cm².     

Mid-IR frequency comb source spanning 4.4-5.4 μm based on subharmonic GaAs optical parametric oscillator

Broadband mid-IR output suitable for producing 1000-nm-wide frequency combs centered at 4.9?μm was achieved in a degenerate subharmonic optical parametric oscillator (OPO) based on 500-μm-long Brewster-angled orientation-patterned GaAs crystal. The OPO was synchronously pumped at 182 MHz repetition rate by 100 fs pulses from a Cr2?:ZnSe laser with the central wavelength of 2.45?μm and the average power of 100 mW.     

Brewster-oriented passive Q-switch intracavity optical parametric oscillator

The behaviour of passively Q-switched solid-state lasers containing intracavity optical parametric oscillators (OPOs) is described, and a model to optimize this system‘s performance is developed. Meanwhile, an Nd:YAG laserpumped KTiOPO4 (KTP) intracavity OPO for eye safe laser output is studied experimentally. A Brewster-oriented bis-(4-dimethylaminodithiobenzil)-nickel (BDN) dye film is employed in laser cavity, which plays the double role of a passive Q-switch and a Brewster plate, to Q-switch the light to increase its intensity and polarize the light so that the polarization plane of fundamental irradiation is perpendicular to the Z-axis of KTP serving as the OPO nonlinear crystal, thereby providing type Ⅱ phase matching conditions to generate 1.572μm eye-safe signal laser. Eye-safe signal radiations of 6.6mJ per pulse at 1.572μm wavelength and pulse width as narrow as 6.0ns (FWHM) were obtained. Peak power was up to 1.1MW.     

13.5 mJ polarized 2.09 μm fiber-bulk holmium laser and its application to a mid-infrared ZnGeP_2 optical parametric oscillator

A high pulse repetition frequency(PRF), high energy Ho:YAG laser directly pumped by a Tm-doped fiber laser and its application to a mid-infrared ZnGeP_2(ZGP) optical parametric oscillator(OPO) is demonstrated.The maximum polarized 2.09 μm laser pulse energy is 13.46 mJ at a PRF of 1 k Hz. The corresponding peak power reaches 504 kW. In a double-resonant ZGP-OPO, a maximum mid-infrared laser pulse energy of 1.25 m J,corresponding to a peak power of 79 kW, is accomplished at a PRF of 3 kHz. The nonlinear conversion efficiency reaches 41.7%. The nonlinear slope efficiency reaches 53.3%.     

Generation of 2.1 μm wavelength from degenerate high gray track resistant potassium titanyl phosphate optical parametric oscillator

This paper presents the experimental results of degenerate optical parametric generation using a high gray track resistant potassium titanyl phosphate (HGTR KTP) optical parametric oscillator (OPO). An average output power of 7 W at 10 kHz has been achieved that includes both signal and idler powers near degeneracy using 20 W average power from a 1064 nm Nd:YVO₄ pump source corresponding to an optical conversion efficiency of 35%.     

Compact, 1.5 mJ, 450 MHz, CdSiP2 picosecond optical parametric oscillator near 6.3 μm

We report a compact, efficient, high-energy, and high-repetition-rate mid-IR picosecond optical parametric oscillator (OPO) based on the new nonlinear material CdSiP(2) (CSP). The OPO is synchronously pumped by a master oscillator power amplifier system at 1064.1 nm, providing 1 μs long macropulses constituting 8.6 ps micropulses at 450 MHz, and it can be tuned over 486 nm across 6091-6577 nm, covering the technologically important wavelength range for surgical applications. Using a compact (～30 cm) cavity and improved, high-quality nonlinear crystal, idler macropulse energy as high as 1.5 mJ has been obtained at 6275 nm at a photon conversion efficiency of 29.5%, with >1.2 mJ over more than 68% of the tuning range, for an input macropulse energy of 30 mJ. Both the signal and idler beams are recorded to have good beam quality with a Gaussian spatial profile, and the extracted signal pulses are measured to have durations of 10.6 ps. Further, from the experimentally measured transmission data at 1064 nm, we have estimated the two-photon absorption coefficient of CSP to be β=2.4 cm/GW, with a corresponding energy bandgap, E(g)=2.08 eV.