Mikael Tiihonen

Narrowband bulk Bragg grating optical parametric oscillator

A narrowband, pulsed optical parametric oscillator (OPO) whose output coupler is a bulk glass Bragg grating is demonstrated. The OPO is based on periodically poled KTiOPO4 and is pumped by a pulsed, frequency-doubled Nd:YAG laser at 532 nm, generating a signal at 975 nm with a total efficiency of 35%. This novel and compact device shows a spectral bandwidth of 0.16 nm (50 GHz), a decrease by a factor of 20 compared with that when a conventional mirror is used. By using a folded cavity, we demonstrate tunable radiation with a tuning range of 60 nm and maintained spectral bandwidth.

ZnGeP2 parametric oscillator pumped by a linewidth-narrowed parametric 2 μm source

A tandem optical parametric oscillator (OPO) is used to convert radiation from 1.064 microm to the mid-infrared. Spectral bandwidth narrowing close to 80 times compared with a conventional cavity was achieved by using a bulk Bragg grating as an outcoupler in a near-degenerate periodically poled KTiOPO(4) OPO. The narrowed 2,008 nm radiation was subsequently used for pumping the ZnGeP(2) OPO, which was tunable between 3.3 and 5.2 microm. Pulse energies of 170 microJ and pump depletion close to 70% were obtained in the ZnGeP(2) OPO. To our knowledge this is the first time the output from a near-degenerate type I PPKTP OPO has been used for ZnGeP(2) OPO pumping.

Portable ultrafast blue light sources designed with frequency doubling in KTP and KNbO/sub 3/

We demonstrate an effective means of achieving compact, truly portable, and entirely self-contained ultrafast blue light sources. Using a variety of nonlinear media to achieve simple second-harmonic generation of a femtosecond Cr:LiSAF laser, we investigate the relative merits of aperiodically poled bulk and waveguide nonlinear crystals in comparison to periodically poled structures. Such a compact and convenient source of ultrashort laser pulses in the blue spectral region could be of great interest for on-site applications spanning a host of disciplines, such as biomedical imaging, optical micromanipulation, and high-resolution spectroscopy.

Spectral detection of ultraviolet laser induced fluorescence from individual bioaerosol particles

We present results of a measurement system designed for detecting the fluorescence spectrum of individual aerosol particles of biological warfare agents excited with laser pulses at wavelengths around 290 or 340 nm. The biological aerosol is prepared and directed into a narrow air beam. A red laser is focused on the aerosol beam and a trigger photomultiplier tube monitor the presence of individual particles by measuring the scattered light. When a particle is present in the detection volume, a laser pulse is triggered from an ultraviolet laser and the fluorescence spectrum is acquired with a spectrometer based on a diffraction grating and a 32 channels photomultiplier tube array with single-photon sensitivity. The spectrometer measures the fluorescence spectra in the wavelength region from 300 to 800 nm. In the experiment we used different simulants of biological warfare agents. These bioaerosol particles were excited by a commercial available gas laser (337 nm), or a laser (290 nm) that we have developed based on an optical parametric oscillator with intracavity sum-frequency mixing. In the analysis of the experiments we compare the measured signals (fluorescence spectra, total fluorescence energy and the scattered energy) from the individual bioaerosol particles excited with the two different ultraviolet wavelengths.

Development of fluorescence-based LIDAR technology for biological sensing

Results of our on-going development of biological warfare agents (BWA) detection systems based on spectral detection of ultraviolet (UV) laser induced fluorescence (LIF) are presented. A compact optical parametric oscillator (OPO) with intracavity sum-frequency mixing (SFM) to generate 293 nm UV laser irradiation was developed. The OPO/SFM device was pumped by a diode-pumped Nd:YAG laser (1064 nm), including subsequent second-harmonic generation (SHG) in an external periodically poled KTiOPO4 (PPKTP) crystal. The laser generated 1.8 ns pulses at 100 Hz with an average power of 44 mW at 532 nm. The whole system could be used to deliver approximately 30 µJ laser irradiation per pulse (100 Hz) at 293 nm. The spectral detection part of the system consists of a grating and a photomultiplier tube (PMT) array with 32 channels, which can measure fluorescence spectra in the wavelength band from 250 nm to 800 nm. The detector system was designed along with a trigger laser to enable measurement of fluorescence spectra from an individual aerosol particle of simulants for BWA upon excitation with a single nanosecond laser pulse. We demonstrate the successful detection and spectral characterization of simulants for BWA, i.e., Bacillus atrophaeus (BG), Bacillus thuringiensis (BT), and Ovalbumin (OA).

Noncollinear double-ring optical parametric oscillators with periodically poled KTiOPO4.

A pulsed self-seeded double-ring optical parametric oscillator realized with periodically poled KTiOPO4 is demonstrated. When pumped from two opposite directions, the cavity supported two automatically aligned, independent, counter-propagating parametric wave pairs whose wavelength could be continuously tuned by varying a single degree of freedom. The tuning range from 1189 nm to 1267 nm has been achieved for the resonant idler waves. The parametric rings could be cross-seeded by using a feedback arrangement. Here, Fourier-domain filtering was utilized to spectrally manipulate the output spectrum of the seeded ring oscillator. Parametric ring oscillator efficiencies of 46 % were achieved.

Detection of fluorescence spectra of individual bioaerosol particles

We present initial results of a measurement system designed for detecting the fluorescence spectrum of individual particles of biological warfare agent (BWA). A compact optical parametric oscillator with intracavity sum-frequency mixing and a commercial Nitrogen gas laser was used as excitation sources to generate 293 nm or 337 nm UV laser irradiation. The pulsed lasers and a photomultiplier tube (PMT) array based spectrometer were triggered by a red laser-diode and a PMT detector that sensed the presence of a particle typical of size 5-20 μm in diameter. The spectral detection part of the system consisted of a grating and a PMT array with 32 channels, which measured fluorescence in the wavelength from 280 nm to 800 nm. The detector system was used to demonstrate the measurement of laser induced fluorescence spectra of individual BWA simulant particles by excitation of single UV laser pulses. The spectrum obtained by averaging spectra from several BWA aerosol simulant particles were found generally similar, but not identical, to the fluorescence spectrum obtained from water solutions containing the same particles dissolved.

Broadly Tunable Picosecond Narrowband pulses in a periodically poled KTiOPO4 parametric amplifier

A picosecond double-pass periodically poled KTiOPO(4) (PPKTP) noncollinear parametric amplifier that delivers tunable and narrowband outputs between 1.1 mum and 1.65 mum is reported. The seed source is an ultra-broadband emitting PPKTP collinear parametric generator, which is spectrally narrowed, from a bandwidth of 80 THz to about 0.3 THz, by a Fourier-filtering arrangement. A parametric gain of 70 dB is measured with preserved spectral bandwidth, resulting in a signal energy of 6.5 muJ at a pump energy of 60 muJ from the Ti:sapphire regenerative amplifier. The total energy-budget for the setup is less than 100 muJ with an optical-to-optical efficiency of 12 %. This particular system is scalable to even lower pump energies by tighter focusing arrangements.

Tandem OPO systems for mid-infrared generation using quasi phase-matching and volume Bragg gratings

Efficient laser sources in the 3 - 5 μm wavelength range are needed for directed infrared countermeasures, but also have applications in remote sensing, medicine and spectroscopy. We present results and discuss the possibilities of a tandem optical parametric oscillator (OPO) scheme for converting the radiation from a 1.06 μm Nd3+-laser to the mid-infrared. Our setup uses type I quasi phase-matched (QPM) crystals in a near degenerate OPO to generate 2.13 μm radiation. The QPM crystal provides higher nonlinearity and longer interaction lengths, because walk-off is avoided, compared to conventional bulk crystals. This is an advantage especially in low pulse energy applications. To make the 2.13 μm radiation usable for pumping a second OPO a volume Bragg grating is used as a cavity mirror to limit the bandwidth, which in a conventional QPM OPO at degeneracy can be several hundred nanometers. The acceptance bandwidth for efficient OPO operation of a 14 mm long ZnGeP2 (ZGP) crystal is approximately 5 nm, which makes the need for bandwidth limiting clear. The majority of the signal energy from a periodically poled KTiOPO4 (PP KTP) OPO with a volume Bragg grating output coupler was found to be in a single longitudinal mode, whereas the idler bandwidth was measured to 19 GHz (FWHM). A volume Bragg grating resonant near 2124 nm was chosen so that the signal and idler were separated by 9 nm. This OPO output has been used as a pump source for a conventional ZGP OPO demonstrating efficient conversion and providing broadband tunable output in the mid-infrared.

Two-dimensional quasi-phase-matched multiple-cascaded four-wave mixing in periodically poled KTiOPO~4

A two-dimensional quasi-phase-matched structure is realized in a noncollinear, nondegenerate periodically poled KTiOPO(4) parametric oscillator by utilizing the mutual coherence of two noncollinear pump beams. The mutually coherent pump beams form an interference pattern inside the crystal that is directed perpendicular to the existing quasi-phase-matched grating vector and acts as a parametric gain grating. The cavity itself supports two signal wavelengths around 1550 nm with tunable separation, while the gain grating reduces the operational threshold of the oscillator. Furthermore, with this two-dimensional quasi-phase-matched structure, we can demonstrate the generation of new spectral components through multiple chi((2)):chi((2))-cascaded four-wave mixing processes.