M.E. Klein

Diode-pumped singly resonant continuous-wave optical parametric oscillator with wide continuous tuning of the near-infrared idler wave.

We demonstrate wide, continuous tuning of the single-frequency idler wave of a cw singly resonant optical parametric oscillator (SRO). The SRO consists of a periodically poled LiNbO(3) crystal for quasi-phase matching in a four-mirror signal-resonant ring cavity. The SRO, excited by 2.25 W of 924-nm radiation from an InGaAs diode laser, generates as much as 200 mW of single-frequency 2.1-mum idler radiation. We tune the idler frequency continuously within a range as large as 56 GHz by changing the wavelength of the diode pump laser. The versatility of this continuously tunable single-frequency infrared source is demonstrated by recording of N(2)O rovibrational absorption lines near 2.1 mum.

110 GHz rapid, continous tuning from an optical parametric oscillator pumped by a fiber-amplified DBR diode laser

A singly-resonant continuous-wave optical parametric oscillator (cw-OPO) pumped by a fiber-amplified diode laser is described. Tuning of the pump source allowed the OPO output to be tuned continuously, without mode-hops, over 110 GHz in 29 ms. Discontinuous pump tuning over 20 nm in the region of 3.4 microm was also obtained. The rapid and continuous idler tuning was demonstrated by the measurement of a methane absorption spectrum. We believe this to be the first example of a singly-resonant OPO pumped by a fiber-amplified diode laser and the mode-hop free tuning range to be the highest reported for a cw-OPO.

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 LiNbO3 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 2.1 µm. The wavelengths of the signal and the idler output are tuned in the ranges of 1.55 to 1.70 µm and 2.03 to 2.29 µm, respectively, by tuning the wavelength of the diode laser from 924.0 to 925.4 nm.

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

Summary from only given. We report on the first fiber-pumped CW LiNbO/sub 3/ optical parametric oscillator (OPO). The OPO is singly resonant (SRO) and generates idler wavelengths in the range of 3.0 /spl mu/m to 3.7 /spl mu/m with a maximum output power of 1.9 watt.

Periodically poled potassium niobate for second-harmonic generation at 463 nm.

We report on the fabrication and characterization of quasi-phase-matched potassium niobate crystals for second-harmonic generation. Periodic 30-mum -pitch antiparallel ferroelectric domains are fabricated by means of poling in an electrical field. Both birefrigence and periodic phase shift of the generated second harmonic contribute to phase matching when the d(31) nonlinear optical tensor element is used. 3.8 mW of second-harmonic radiation at 463 nm is generated by frequency doubling of the output of master-oscillator power-amplifier diode laser in a 5-mm-long crystal. The measured effective nonlinear coefficient is 3.7pm/V. The measured spectral acceptance bandwidth of 0.25 nm corresponds to the theoretical value.

Rapidly tunable fiber laser pumped continuous-wave optical parametric oscillator

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 ms, corresponding to an idler frequency-tuning speed of 28 THzms. 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.

Diode-pumped continuous-wave widely tunable optical parametric oscillator based on periodically poled lithium tantalate.

We report on a diode-laser pumped cw optical parametric oscillator (OPO) based on quasi-phase-matched periodically poled lithium tantalate. Pumped by the 2.3-W single-frequency, nearly diffraction-limited 925-nm output of an InGaAs diode master-oscillator power amplifier, the pump and signal resonant OPO generates a single-frequency idler wave with an output of as much as 244 mW. The wavelengths of the signal and idler waves are widely tunable in the range 1.55-2.3mum by use of different poling periods (27.3 to 27.9mum) and by variation of the crystal temperature in the range 70-190 degrees C.

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.

Self-injection-locking of a CW-OPO by intracavity frequency-doubling the idler wave

We report on the observation of self-injection-locking of the signal wave of an optical parametric oscillator (OPO) with the intracavity frequency doubled idler wave. The two-mirror OPO is based on a periodically poled LiNbO3 (PPLN) crystal and pumped with a grating stabilized, continuous-wave (CW) single-frequency diode master-oscillator power-amplifier (MOPA) system. Simultaneous quasi-phase-matching (QPM) of OPO and second harmonic generation (SHG) is provided in the same crystal which carries two different domain gratings. The beat of the signal wave and the frequency-doubled idler wave is suppressed within a 500-kHz wide frequency range centered around zero as expected for self-injection- locking. The measurements prove the feasibility of optically phase-stabilized by-three-division of an optical frequency with CW-OPOs using cascaded nonlinearities.

Electro-optic modification of second-harmonic phase-matching spectra in segmented periodically poled LiNbO3

We demonstrate a method that enables in situ modification of the spectral shape of the parametric-gain profile in quasi-phase-matching crystals. In our experiment we used the electro-optic effect to modify the phase-matching profile for second-harmonic generation in a 57-mm-long nonuniformly poled LiNbO3 crystal. In the direction of beam propagation the crystal is divided into three segments, where the first and the third segments have an equal length of 17 mm. Both segments are periodically poled with the same period of 21.6 µm, in order to obtain quasi phase matching for frequency doubling a fundamental wavelength of 1653 nm. The center segment is single-domain LiNbO3 whose index of refraction is changed by the electro-optic effect by applying a voltage. Using a continuously tunable, single-frequency, single-stripe, distributed-feedback diode laser as the fundamental source, we recorded the parametric phase-matching profile for second-harmonic generation as a function of the laser wavelength and investigated the modification of the profile in dependence of the voltage applied to the crystal center segment. The measured phase-matching spectra are in excellent agreement with the theoretical prediction. The demonstrated method opens the possibility of rapidly changing the parametric-gain profile for all types of χ(2) nonlinear conversion processes.