High-efficiency mid-infrared ZnGeP2 optical parametric oscillator directly pumped by a lamp-pumped, Q-switched CrTmHo:YAG laser

We report a singly resonant optical parametric oscillator (SRO) based on a ZnGeP(2) crystal directly pumped by a lamp-pumped Q-switched CrTmHo:YAG laser. The IR was tunable from 4.7 to 7.8 microm via crystal angle tuning. A maximum optical to optical efficiency of 56% was obtained from the pump (2.09 microm) to total IR at a pump energy of 6.5 mJ. The corresponding idler energy was 1.45 mJ. The SRO was measured to have a slope efficiency of 64% and a threshold of 1 mJ. The spatial beam quality of the idler, characterized by the M(2) parameter, was 1.38 when the SRO was pumped at 2.5 times threshold. These results show that ZnGeP(2) optical parametric oscillators directly pumped by a CrTmHo:YAG laser can be operated efficiently, while maintaining good IR beam quality.     

Verfeinerung der Kristallstruktur von SrO2

Refinement of the Crystal Structure of SrO₂ Single crystals of SrO₂ have been obtained after high pressure/high temperature reaction of a SrO/KClO₃ mixture at 20 kbar, 1 400°C. The crystal structure was refined using 154 unique diffractometer data (I4/mmm; a = 3.5626(3), c = 6.6159(6) Å; Z = 2; R = 0.033, R_w = 0.022, S = 0.932). The O O distance (1.493(4) Å) is significantly longer than the one previously assumed. From a refinement of the site occupation factor for oxygen a composition SrO_1.95(2) has been found for the crystal investigated.