Harnessing nonlinear frequency upconversion of Talbot effect with flexible Talbot lengths.

We report on a simple experimental scheme demonstrating nonlinear frequency upconversion of the Talbot effect with controllable Talbot lengths at high conversion efficiency. Using a microlens array (MLA) as an array illuminator at 1064 nm onto a 1.2-mm-thick BiBO crystal, we have observed the second harmonic Talbot effect in green at 532 nm with a Talbot length twice that of the pump Talbot length. However, the Talbot length is constant for fixed parameters of the periodic object and the laser wavelength. With the formulation of a suitable theoretical framework, we have implemented a generic experimental scheme based on the Fourier transformation technique to independently control the Talbot lengths of the MLA in both the pump and the second harmonic, overcoming the stringent dependence of MLA parameters on the self-images. Deploying the current technique, we have been able to tune the Talbot lengths from zT = 26 cm to zT = 62.4 cm in the pump and zT = 12.4 cm to zT = 30.8 cm in the second harmonic, respectively. The single pass conversion efficiency of the Talbot images is 2.91% W-1, an enhancement of a factor of 106 as compared to the previous reports. This generic experimental scheme can be used to generate long-range self-images of periodic structures and also to program desired Talbot planes at required positions at both pump and upconverted frequency to avoid any mechanical constraints of experiments.

Up-converted photorefractive optical transient detection with femtosecond laser pulses.

We report on experimental demonstration of optical transient detection (OTD) based on photorefractive two-wave mixing of femtosecond pulses. The demonstrated technique also combines nonlinear-crystal-based OTD with up-conversion from infrared into the visible range. The approach enables measurement of phase changes of a dynamic signal in the infrared using GaP- or Si-based detectors while suppressing stationary background. Experimental results reveal existence of the relation between input phases in the infrared and output phases in the visible wavelength range. We further present experimental evidence of additional merits of up-converted transient phase analysis under noisy conditions, such as residual continuous-wave emission affecting the ultrashort pulses from the laser.

Efficient femtosecond optical parametric generation in group-velocity-matched MgO:PPLN at 10†MHz.

We report on efficient single-pass optical parametric generation (OPG) of broadband femtosecond pulses in the mid-infrared at 10 MHz by exploiting group-velocity-matched interaction in a 42-mm-long MgO:PPLN crystal. Using a microchip-started femtosecond amplified Mamyshev oscillator at 1064 nm as the pump, the OPG source can provide tunable femtosecond pulses across 1516-1566 nm in the signal and 3318-3568 nm in the idler, with slope efficiencies of ∼93% and ∼41%, respectively. For 650 mW of average input pump power, signal powers of up to 283 mW at 1524 nm are generated, with more than 200 mW over the entire tuning range. Idler average powers of up to 104 mW at 3450 nm, with more than 80 mW across the full range, are also obtained. For input pump pulses of ∼182 fs, the generated signal pulses have a duration of ∼460 fs at 1516 nm. The idler pulses have a typical bandwidth of ≥100 nm over the entire tuning range, and as wide as 181 nm at 3457 nm. The OPG source exhibits excellent passive power stability, better than 0.5% rms in the signal and 0.6% rms in the idler, over 1 h, both in Gaussian TEM00 spatial profile with M2 < 1.5.

Yb-fiber-pumped high-average-power picosecond optical parametric oscillator tunable across 1.3-1.5†µm.

We report the generation of high-repetition-rate picosecond pulses in the 1.3-1.5 µm spectral range by internal second harmonic generation (SHG) of an idler-resonant optical parametric oscillator (OPO) based on MgO-doped periodically-poled LiNbO3 (MgO:PPLN), synchronously pumped by ∼20 ps pulses at 80 MHz using an Yb-fiber laser at 1.064 µm. By taking advantage of the high spatial quality of the resonant idler beam in the 2503-3030 nm wavelength range and using a second MgO:PPLN crystal with fanout grating structure for intracavity SHG, we have achieved spectral coverage across 1272-1515 nm with up to 1.23 W average power. The second harmonic output exhibits a power stability of 3% rms over 1 hour in pulses of 8.3 ps with Gaussian beam profile. The described approach overcomes the spectral limitation of 1.064 µm-pumped OPOs based on MgO:PPLN and other oxide-based nonlinear crystals, where signal generation below ∼1.45 µm is precluded by multi-phonon absorption of idler radiation above ∼4 µm.

Tunable, high-power, high-order optical vortex beam generation in the mid-infrared.

We report the generation of tunable high-order optical vortices in the mid-infrared (mid-IR) using a picosecond optical parametric oscillator (OPO). The OPO is based on MgO:PPLN as the nonlinear gain medium and synchronously pumped by a mode-locked Yb-fiber laser at 1064 nm. Using a singly-resonant oscillator configuration for the OPO, we have achieved direct transfer of pump optical vortices to the non-resonant idler beam, with the resonant signal in the Gaussian cavity mode. We demonstrate the successful transfer of pump optical vortices of order, lp = 1 to 5, to the idler beam of the same order across the mid-IR, with an output power of 630 mW to 130 mW across 2538 nm to 4035 nm for the highest idler vortex order, li = 5. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of an OPO pumped by a vortex beam of order as high as lp = 5 and generating idler vortices of high order in the mid-IR.

Green-pumped continuous-wave parametric oscillator based on fanout-grating MgO:PPLN: publisher's note.

This publisher's note contains corrections to Opt. Lett.45, 6486 (2020)OPLEDP0146-959210.1364/OL.404979.

Broadly tunable, intracavity injection-seeded, hybrid optical parametric oscillator.

We report a novel, to the best of our knowledge, approach for injection seeding of pulsed optical parametric oscillators (OPOs), which can provide spectral control over the full tuning range. Bandwidth reduction down to single-mode operation is realized across the pulsed tuning range by deploying a hybrid design, where a continuous-wave (cw) OPO injection seeds the pulsed OPO in a single composite cavity. By exploiting two identical MgO-doped periodically poled lithium niobate crystals, the hybrid OPO provides signal pulses with a single-frequency linewidth as narrow as 7.2 MHz across 1510-1677 nm. The effect of cw injection seeding on pulsed OPO operation is also confirmed by reduced rise time, increased pump depletion, major reduction in threshold, and substantial enhancement in output power and extraction efficiency.

Tunable vortex beam generation using an optical parametric oscillator with an antiresonant-ring interferometer.

We report a high-average-power picosecond optical vortex source tunable in the near-infrared, using an antiresonant-ring (ARR) interferometer internal to an optical parametric oscillator (OPO) in combination with an external cylindrical lens for astigmatic mode conversion. The ARR OPO is tunable in the signal across 1457-1647 nm with a vortex intensity profile and up to 1 W of average power at 1602 nm. The corresponding idler is tunable over 3006-3945 nm in a Gaussian intensity profile with as much as 1.6 W at 3168 nm. The vortex signal and the Gaussian idler exhibit passive power stability better than 1.7% rms and 1.3% rms, respectively, over >1h. The signal pulses have a Gaussian duration of <19ps with a time-bandwidth product of ΔτΔν<3.6 across the tuning range.

Performance studies of high-average-power picosecond optical parametric generation and amplification in MgO:PPLN at 80†MHz.

We report on performance studies of high-average-power single-pass picosecond optical parametric generation (OPG) and amplification (OPA) tunable near 2 µm in MgO:PPLN pumped by an Yb-fiber laser at 1.064 µm and 80 MHz pulse repetition rate. The simple setup based on two identical crystals, and without the need for an intermediate delay line for synchronization, delivers up to 6.3 W of average power at an overall conversion efficiency of ∼50% and is tunable across 1902-2415 nm. We present systematic characterization of OPG and OPA stages to compare their performance and investigate the effect of parametric generation in the high-gain limit, enabling high output power and full-width-half-maximum (FWHM) spectral bandwidths as large as 189 nm. The OPG-OPA output exhibits excellent passive power stability better than 0.3% rms and central wavelength stability better than 0.03% rms over 1 hour, in high spatial beam quality with M2<2. The OPG output pulses have duration of 5.2 ps with a FWHM spectral bandwidth of 117 nm at 2123 nm, resulting in a time-bandwidth product of ΔτΔν∼40, indicating ∼4 times temporal compression compared to the input pump pulses. Theoretical simulations confirm the effect of pump beam divergence on the observed shift in wavelength tuning with respect to temperature, while the exponential gain in the parametric process is identified as playing a key role in the resulting pulse compression.

Multi-structured-beam optical parametric oscillator.

Structured beams, conventionally generated through the spatial mode conversion of the Gaussian laser beams, have attracted great interest in recent years. Optical parametric oscillators (OPOs) have demonstrated the potential for the generation of tunable structured beams directly from an input pump source. However, to date, a particular OPO design has been shown to produce such beams only in a specific configuration and different spatial structured beams require different system architectures. Here, we report the generation of multiple-structured beams from a single OPO device. Using a vortex-beam-pumped ultrafast OPO in singly-resonant oscillator design and through the control of the mode structure of the resonant beam using a simple intracavity aperture, we generate vortex, Airy, vortex Airy, and Gaussian signal beams over a tunable wavelength range across 1457-1680 nm, simultaneous with vortex beam in the non-resonant idler across 2902-3945 nm, from different ports of the device. The signal and idler vortices have output power in excess of 1 W and maximum vortex order of li=2, while the Airy beam and vortex Airy beam have output power of more than 200 mW. The generic experimental design can be used to provide multi-structured spatial beams with broad tunability across different spectral regions by proper selection of pump laser and nonlinear material and in all times-scales from continuous-wave to ultrafast femtosecond domain.

Green-pumped continuous-wave parametric oscillator based on fanout-grating MgO:PPLN.

We report the first green-pumped continuous-wave (cw) optical parametric oscillator (OPO) based on MgO:PPLN in a fanout grating design. Pumped by a single-frequency cw laser at 532 nm, the OPO provides tunable radiation across 813-1032 nm in the signal and 1098-1539 nm in the idler by simple mechanical translation at a fixed temperature of 55°C. By deploying a 25-mm-long crystal to minimize thermal effects and using output coupling for the signal wave, we generate a total output power of up to 714 mW at 30% extraction efficiency in excellent Gaussian beam quality with M2<1.1 and high output stability. Simultaneous measurements of signal and idler power result in passive stability of 2.8% and 1.8% rms, respectively, over 1 h. Strong thermal effects contribute to the high stability and excellent beam quality, while linear and green-induced infrared absorption limit the power scaling capabilities of the OPO. The output signal is single-mode with an instantaneous linewidth of ∼3MHz and frequency stability of ∼84MHz over 72 s.

Phase-locked picosecond optical parametric oscillator.

We report a degenerate self-phase-locked picosecond optical parametric oscillator (OPO) synchronously pumped by a mode-locked Yb-fiber laser at 1064 nm, delivering broadband output near 2 µm with 2.8 W of average power at ∼80MHz repetition rate. By exploiting a 50-mm-long MgO:PPLN crystal providing high gain and low group velocity dispersion under type-0 (e→ee) phase matching, the OPO generates a phase-locked degenerate output spectrum with a bandwidth of ∼202nm centered at 2128 nm in pulses of ∼21ps duration with excellent passive long-term power and spectral stability in high spatial beam quality. Phase-locked operation results in spectral and power stabilization at exact degeneracy and is further validated by f-2f interferometry and radio frequency measurements of OPO output. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first degenerate self-phase-locked OPO in picosecond time scale, and the highest average power reported for a phase-locked ultrafast OPO to date.

Fiber-laser-pumped high-repetition-rate picosecond optical parametric generation and amplification in MgO:PPLN.

We report the generation of tunable high-repetition-rate picosecond pulses in the near-infrared at high average power with record conversion efficiency using single-pass optical parametric generation (OPG) and amplification (OPA) in MgO:PPLN, for the first time, to the best of our knowledge. By deploying a mode-locked Yb-fiber laser at 1064 nm providing 21 ps pump pulses at 80 MHz, and a cascade of two 50-mm-long MgO:PPLN crystals, we generate up to 8.3 W of total average output power at a conversion efficiency of 59% over a tunable range of 513 nm, across 1902-2415 nm, with a record threshold as low as 600 mW (7.5 nJ). The two-stage OPG-OPA scheme provides control over fine wavelength tuning and output spectral bandwidths, enabled by the independent control of phase-matching in each crystal. The OPG-OPA output exhibits high spatial beam quality and excellent passive power and central wavelength stability better than 0.9% rms and 0.1% rms, respectively, over 1 hour. The output pulses have a duration of ∼11ps, with a 10 dB bandwidth of ∼350nm at 2107 nm.

Widely tunable room-temperature continuous-wave optical parametric oscillator based on periodically-poled KTiOPO4.

We report the first realization of widely tunable continuous-wave (cw) optical parametric oscillator (OPO) based on periodically-poled KTiOPO4 (PPKTP) at room temperature. By exploiting fan-out grating design in a 30-mm PPKTP crystal, and configured in an output-coupled singly-resonant oscillator (OC-SRO) configuration pumped at 532 nm in the green, the OPO provides finely tunable radiation across 741-922 nm in the signal and 1258-1884 nm in the idler, at a fixed temperature of 25 °C. The use of output coupling for the signal wave enables enhancement of OPO extraction efficiency to 30%, providing a maximum total output power of 1.65 W (450 mW of signal at 901 nm and 1.2 W of idler at 1299 nm) for 5.5 W of pump power. The output idler exhibits passive power stability better than 3.2% rms over >2 mins, and the extracted signal exhibits frequency stability of 194 MHz over more than 35 seconds, in excellent beam quality. The OPO performance in pure SRO configuration has also been investigated.

Yb-fiber-pumped, high-beam-quality, idler-resonant mid-infrared picosecond optical parametric oscillator.

We report an Yb-fiber-pumped picosecond optical parametric oscillator (OPO) delivering high average power in excellent beam quality throughout the mid-infrared (mid-IR). Using MgO:PPLN as the nonlinear crystal and configured as a singly-resonant oscillator in the mid-IR idler wave, the OPO provides up to 3.5 W average power in high spatial quality with M2<1.8 across a continuous tuning range of 4028-2198 nm, with M2<1.5 at 4000 nm. It can also deliver as much as 4.3 W of signal power in an output beam with M2<1.4 across 1446-2062 nm. The extracted idler exhibits a passive power stability better than 0.46% rms over 1 hour across the entire mid-IR tuning range. We have also investigated OPO cavity length detuning behavior about the zero-group-velocity-mismatch crossing point and its effects on output power.

Green-pumped optical parametric oscillator based on fan-out grating periodically-poled MgO-doped congruent LiTaO3.

We report a green-pumped optical parametric oscillator (OPO) based on periodically poled MgO-doped congruent lithium tantalate (MgO:cPPLT). Pumped at 532 nm by a frequency-doubled Q-switched Nd:YAG laser, and using a fan-out grating structure, the singly-resonant OPO provides continuous tuning across 689-1025 nm in the signal and 1106-2336 nm in the idler at room temperature by simple mechanical translation of the crystal. The tuning range can be further extended to 677 nm and 2479 nm in the signal and idler, respectively, by temperature tuning the crystal to 200°C. With a 29-mm-long crystal, the OPO generates 131 mW of average idler power at 1476.5 nm for an input pump power of 1.8 W at 25 kHz repetition rate, with a slope efficiency of 11.3%. Bulk damage in the MgO:cPPLT crystal has been observed for pump powers above ∼1.8 W, and at pump powers beyond ∼1.4 W under long-term operation. The passive power stability of the generated idler is 3.9% over 30 min, in a Gaussian spatial profile.

SHG (532 nm)-induced spontaneous parametric downconversion noise in 1064-nm-pumped IR upconversion detectors.

As a novel technique for infrared detection, frequency upconversion has been successfully deployed in many applications. However, investigations into the noise properties of upconversion detectors (UCDs) have also received considerable attention. In this Letter, to the best of our knowledge, we present a new noise source-second-harmonic generation (SHG)-induced spontaneous parametric downconversion-experimentally and theoretically shown to exist in short-wavelength-pumped UCDs. We investigate the noise properties of two UCDs based on single-pass 1064-nm-pumped periodically poled LiNbO3 bulk crystals. One UCD is designed to detect signals in the telecom band and the other in the mid-infrared regime. Our experimental demonstration and theoretical analysis reveal the basic properties of this newly discovered UCD noise source, including its dependence on crystal temperature and pump power. Furthermore, the principle behind the generation of this noise source can also be applied to other UCDs, which utilize nonlinear crystals either in waveguide form or with different bulk materials. This study may also aid in developing methods to suppress the newly identified noise in future UCD designs.

Femtosecond optical parametric oscillator continuously tunable across 3.6-8 µm based on orientation-patterned gallium phosphide.

We report a synchronously-pumped femtosecond optical parametric oscillator (OPO) based on orientation-patterned gallium phosphide (OP-GaP), providing continuously tunable mid-infrared (mid-IR) idler radiation across 3570-7892 nm (2801-1267 cm-1), by exploiting pump wavelength tuning. We generate up to 54 mW of output average power at 80 MHz, and quantum conversion efficiencies up to 28.9% are achieved by use of synchronized pump retroreflection. With the inclusion of intracavity dispersion compensation in an OP-GaP OPO, near-transform-limited signal pulse durations of 112 fs at 1288 nm are measured, and peak powers up to 3 kW in the mid-IR are inferred. Finally, evidence of three-photon absorption is observed and characterized near the pump wavelength.

Tunable ultraviolet vortex source based on a continuous-wave optical parametric oscillator.

We report a continuous-wave (cw) optical parametric oscillator (OPO) generating optical vortices tunable in the ultraviolet (UV). Based on MgO:sPPLT as the nonlinear crystal, the singly resonant OPO is pumped by a cw vortex beam in the green, and deploying intracavity sum-frequency generation (SFG) between the undepleted pump and the Gaussian resonant signal in the crystal of BiB3O6, it can generate optical vortices of order, luv=1 and 2, tunable across 332-344 nm in the UV with a maximum power of 12 mW. Due to conservation of orbital angular momentum in the parametric process, the OPO also produces a non-resonant idler output beam in a vortex spatial profile of order li=1 and 2, identical to the pump vortex, with the signal beam in Gaussian distribution. The idler vortex is tunable across 1172-1338 nm with maximum output power of 1.3 W.

Multimilliwatt, tunable, continuous-wave, mid-infrared generation across 4.6-4.7 µm based on orientation-patterned gallium phosphide.

We report the generation of tunable continuous-wave (cw) mid-infrared (mid-IR) radiation across 4608-4694 nm using the new nonlinear material, orientation-patterned gallium phosphide (OP-GaP). By exploiting difference-frequency mixing between a cw Tm-fiber laser and a home-built cw optical parametric oscillator in a 40-mm-long crystal, we have generated up to 43 mW of cw output power, with >30 mW across >95% of the mid-IR tuning range. The output at 4608 nm exhibits high beam quality with a passive power stability of 2.5% rms over 1.5 min. The temperature acceptance bandwidth of the OP-GaP crystal has been measured and compared with theory. The performance of the mid-IR source at high pump powers and polarization-dependent transmission in OP-GaP has been investigated.