Bonding and stability of elusive silaboryne (SiB) and germaboryne (GeB) with donor base ligands.

Stabilizing the exotic chemical species possessing multiple bonds is often extremely challenging due to insufficient orbital overlap, especially involving one heavier element. Bulky aryl groups and/or carbene as ligand have previously stabilized the SiSi, GeGe, and BB triple bonds. Herein, theoretical calculations have been carried out to shed light on the stability and bonding of elusive silaboryne/germaboryne (Si/GeB triple bond) stabilized by donor base ligands ((cAAC)BE(Me)(L); E = Si, L = cAACMe , NHCMe , PMe3 ; E = Ge, L = cAACMe ). The heavier analogues (Sn, Pb) have been further studied for comparison. Additionally, the effects of bulky substituents at the Si and N atoms on the structural parameters and stability of those species have been investigated. Energy decomposition analysis coupled with natural orbital for chemical valence (EDA-NOCV; for Si) showed that cAAC/NHC ligands could stabilize the exotic BSi-Me species more efficiently than PMe3 ligands. The BSi partial triple bond of the corresponding species possesses a mixture of one covalent electron sharing BSi σ-bond and two dative π-bonds (B ← Si, B → Si).

EDA-NOCV analysis of carbene-borylene bonded dinitrogen complexes for deeper bonding insight: A fair comparison with a metal-dinitrogen system.

Binding of dinitrogen (N2 ) to a transition metal center (M) and followed by its activation under milder conditions is no longer impossible; rather, it is routinely studied in laboratories by transition metal complexes. In contrast, binding of N2 by main group elements has been a challenge for decades, until very recently, an exotic cAAC-borylene (cAAC = cyclic alkyl(amino) carbene) species showed similar binding affinity to kinetically inert and non-polar dinitrogen (N2 ) gas under ambient conditions. Since then, N2 binding by short lived borylene species has made a captivating news in different journals for its unusual features and future prospects. Herein, we carried out different types of DFT calculations, including EDA-NOCV analysis of the relevant cAAC-boron-dinitrogen complexes and their precursors, to shed light on the deeper insight of the bonding secret (EDA-NOCV = energy decomposition analysis coupled with natural orbital for chemical valence). The hidden bonding aspects have been uncovered and are presented in details. Additionally, similar calculations have been carried out in comparison with a selected stable dinitrogen bridged-diiron(I) complex. Singlet cAAC ligand is known to be an exotic stable species which, combined with the BAr group, produces an intermediate singlet electron-deficient (cAAC)(BAr) species possessing a high lying HOMO suitable for overlapping with the high lying π*-orbital of N2 via effective π-backdonation. The BN2 interaction energy has been compared with that of the FeN2 bond. Our thorough bonding analysis might answer the unasked questions of experimental chemists about how boron compounds could mimic the transition metal of dinitrogen binding and activation, uncovering hidden bonding aspects. Importantly, Pauling repulsion energy also plays a crucial role and decides the binding efficiency in terms of intrinsic interaction energy between the boron-center and the N2 ligand.

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.

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.

Synthesis and Evaluation of Antiplasmodial Activity of 2,2,2-Trifluoroethoxychalcones and 2-Fluoroethoxy Chalcones against Plasmodium falciparum in Culture.

A new class of compounds comprising two series of chalcones with 2,2,2-trifluoroethoxy group and 2-fluoroethoxy groups were synthesized and screened for in vitro antiplasmodial activity against Plasmodium falciparum (3D7) using the [³H] hypoxanthine incorporation inhibition assay. Chalcones with 2,2,2-trifluoroethoxy groups substituted on the p- and m-positions of the 1-phenyl ring showed weak antiplasmodial activity, while compounds substituted on the o-position of the 1-phenyl ring displayed enhanced antiplasmodial activity, thus indicating that 2,2,2-trifluoroethoxy groups on the 1-phenyl ring of chalcones show position-dependent antiplasmodial activity. Of the 34 compounds synthesized, chalcones 3a and 3f exhibited significant inhibitory effects, with IC50 values of 3.0 µg/mL and 2.2 µg/mL, respectively. Moreover, these compounds 3a and 3f showed profound antiplasmodial activity in combination with artemisinin in vitro. The most active molecules, 3a, and 3f, were further assessed for their cytotoxicity towards mammalian Vero cells and the selectivity index (SI) values are 8.6, and 8.2 respectively, being considered non-toxic. We also studied the antiplasmodial activity of 2-fluoroethoxychalcones to discern the effect of the number of fluorine atoms in the fluoroethoxy group. Our results showed that chalcones with 2-fluoroethoxy group on the 1-phenyl ring exhibited more enhanced inhibitory effects on the growth of parasites than their trifluoro analogues, which reveals that monofluoroethoxy group is generally more effective than trifluoroethoxy group in the inhibition of parasite growth. Thus o-2,2,2-trifluoroethoxychalcones (Series 3) and 2-fluoroethoxychalcones may serve as good antiplasmodial candidates for future further development.

Room-temperature, rapidly tunable, green-pumped continuous-wave optical parametric oscillator.

We report a high-power, single-frequency, green-pumped continuous-wave optical parametric oscillator (OPO) capable of providing rapid and continuous tuning across a wide spectral range in the near-infrared at room temperature. By exploiting the nonlinear crystal of MgO:sPPLT in a fan-out grating design pumped at 532 nm in the green, the OPO can be tuned continuously across 1097-2100 nm in the idler, with corresponding signal tuning over 712-1033 nm using simple mechanical translation of the crystal at fixed temperature. The device can deliver hundreds of milliwatts of idler power across the complete tuning range, with as much as 2.2 W at 1097 nm for 9 W of input pump power at 77% pump depletion. The passive power stability of the generated idler at 1110 nm, measured at 6.8 W of pump power, is better than 1% rms over 30 min. The signal frequency stability, measured at 837 nm, is 518 MHz over 2 min, with an instantaneous linewidth of 6.9 MHz, in high beam quality.

Nanosecond difference-frequency generation in orientation-patterned gallium phosphide.

We report a tunable, single-pass, pulsed nanosecond difference-frequency generation (DFG) source based on the new semiconductor nonlinear material, orientation-patterned gallium phosphide (OP-GaP). The DFG source is realized by mixing the output signal of a nanosecond OPO tunable over 1723-1827 nm with the input pump pulses of the same OPO at 1064 nm in an OP-GaP crystal, resulting in tunable generation over 233 nm in the mid-infrared from 2548 to 2781 nm. Using a 40-mm-long crystal, we have produced ∼14 mW of average DFG output power at 2719 nm for a pump power of 5 W and signal power of 1 W at 80 kHz repetition rate. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first single-pass nanosecond DFG source based on OP-GaP. The DFG output beam has a TEM00 spatial mode profile and exhibits passive power stability better than 1.7% rms over 1.4 h at 2774 nm, compared to 1.6% and 0.1% rms for the signal and pump, respectively. The OP-GaP crystal is recorded to have a temperature acceptance bandwidth of 17.7°C.

Continuous-wave, single-pass, single-frequency second-harmonic-generation at 266 nm based on birefringent-multicrystal scheme.

We report the implementation of a compact cascaded multicrystal scheme based on birefringent crystals in critical phase-matching, for the generation of continuous-wave (cw) radiation in the deep ultraviolet (UV). The approach comprises a cascade of 4 single-pass second-harmonic-generation (SHG) stages in ß-BaB2O4 (BBO) pumped by a single-frequency cw green source at 532 nm. A deep-UV cw output power of 37.7 mW at 266 nm has been obtained with a high passive power stability of 0.12% rms over more than 4 hours. Characterization and optimization of the system in each stage has been systematically performed. Angular phase-matching acceptance bandwidth under tight focusing in BBO, and spectral properties of the deep-UV radiation, have been studied. Theoretical calculations for SHG in the cascaded scheme based on birefringent phase-matching have been performed, and enhancement in UV power compared to single-stage single-pass scheme are studied. Theoretical comparison of BBO with other potential crystals for deep-UV generation in cascaded multicrystal scheme is also presented.

Fiber-laser-based, high-repetition-rate, picosecond ultraviolet source tunable across 329-348 nm.

We report a compact, fiber-laser-based, high-repetition-rate picosecond source for the ultraviolet (UV), providing multi-tens of milliwatt of average power across 329-348 nm. The source is based on internal sum-frequency-generation (SFG) in a singly resonant optical parametric oscillator (OPO), synchronously pumped at 532 nm by the second harmonic of a picosecond Yb-fiber laser at 80 MHz repetition rate. Using a 30-mm-long single-grating MgO:sPPLT crystal for the OPO and a 5-mm-long BiB3O6 crystal for intracavity SFG, we generate up to 115 mW of average UV power at 339.9 nm, with >50 mW over 73% of the tuning range, for 1.6 W of input pump power. The UV output exhibits a passive rms power stability of ∼2.9% rms over 1 min and 6.5% rms over 2 h in high beam quality. Angular acceptance bandwidth and cavity detuning effects have also been studied.

Ultrafast optical vortex beam generation in the ultraviolet.

We report on the generation of ultrafast vortex beams in the deep ultraviolet (DUV) wavelength range at 266 nm, for the first time to our knowledge. Using a Yb-fiber-based green source in combination with two spiral phase plates of orders 1 and 2, we were able to generate picosecond Laguerre-Gaussian (LG) beams at 532 nm. Subsequently, these LG beams were frequency doubled by single-pass, second-harmonic generation in a 10 mm-long ß-BaB2O4 crystal to generate ultrafast vortex beams at 266 nm with a vortex order as high as 12, providing up to 383 mW of DUV power at a single-pass, green-to-DUV conversion efficiency of 5.2%. The generated picosecond UV vortex beam has a spectral width of 1.02 nm with a passive power stability better than 1.2% rms over >1.5 h.

Continuous-wave, multimilliwatt, mid-infrared source tunable across 6.4-7.5 µm based on orientation-patterned GaAs.

We report a continuous-wave (cw) source of tunable mid-infrared radiation providing tens of milliwatt of output power in the 6460-7517 nm spectral range. The source is based on difference-frequency generation (DFG) in orientation-patterned (OP)-GaAs pumped by a Tm-fiber laser at 2010 nm and a 1064 nm-Yb-fiber-pumped cw optical parametric oscillator. Using a 25.7-mm-long OP-GaAs crystal, we have generated up to 51.1 mW of output power at 6790 nm, with >40 mW and >20 mW across 32% and 80% of the mid-infrared tuning range, respectively, which is to the best of our knowledge the highest tunable cw power generated in OP-GaAs in this spectral range. The DFG output at maximum power exhibits passive power stability better than 2.3% rms over more than 1 h and a frequency stability of 1.8 GHz over more than 1 min, in high spatial beam quality. The system and crystal performance at high pump powers have been studied.

BrettPhos ligand supported palladium-catalyzed C-O bond formation through an electronic pathway of reductive elimination: fluoroalkoxylation of activated aryl halides.

We report an unprecedented BrettPhos ligand supported Pd-catalyzed CO bond-forming reaction of activated aryl halides with primary fluoroalkyl alcohols. We demonstrate that the Phosphine ligand (BrettPhos) possesses the property of altering the mechanistic pathway of reductive elimination from nucleophile to nucleophile. The Pd/BrettPhos catalyst system facilitates the reductive elimination of the oxygen nucleophile through an electronic pathway.

Tunable, continuous-wave, ultraviolet source based on intracavity sum-frequency-generation in an optical parametric oscillator using BiB3O6.

We report a continuous-wave (cw) source of tunable radiation across 333-345 nm in the ultraviolet (UV) using bismuth triborate, BiB3O6 (BIBO) as the nonlinear gain material. The source is based on internal sum-frequency-generation (SFG) in a cw singly-resonant optical parametric oscillator (OPO) pumped at 532 nm. The compact tunable source employs a 30-mm-long MgO:sPPLT crystal as the OPO gain medium and a 5-mm-long BIBO crystal for intracavity SFG of the signal and pump, providing up to 21.6 mW of UV power at 339.7 nm, with >15 mW over 64% of the SFG tuning range. The cw OPO is also tunable across 1158-1312 nm in the idler, delivering as much as 1.7 W at 1247 nm, with >1W over 65% of the tuning range. The UV output at maximum power exhibits passive power stability better than 3.4% rms and frequency stability of 193 GHz over more than one minute.

Directly phase-modulation-mode-locked doubly-resonant optical parametric oscillator.

We present results on direct mode-locking of a doubly-resonant optical parametric oscillator (DRO) using an electro-optic phase modulator with low resonant frequency of 80 MHz as the single mode-locking element. Pumped by a cw laser at 532 nm and based on MgO:sPPLT as the nonlinear material, the DRO generates 533 ps pulses at 80 MHz and 471 ps pulses at 160 MHz. Stable train of mode-locked pulses is obtained at a modulation depth of 1.83 radians when the modulation frequency is precisely tuned and the cavity length is carefully adjusted. The effects of frequency detuning, modulation depth, input laser pump power, crystal temperature and position of modulator inside the cavity, on pulse duration and repetition rate have been studied. Operating at degeneracy, under mode-locked condition, the signal-idler spectrum exhibits a bandwidth of ~31 nm, and the spectrum has been investigated for different phase-matching temperatures. Mode-locked operation has been confirmed by second-harmonic-generation of the DRO output in a ß-BaB2O4 crystal, where a 4 times enhancement in green power is observed compared to cw operation.

Stable, continuous-wave, ytterbium-fiber-based single-pass ultraviolet source using BiB3O6.

We report stable continuous-wave (CW) ultraviolet (UV) generation at 354.7 nm using single-pass sum-frequency-generation (SFG) of a CW Yb-fiber laser at 1064 nm in the nonlinear crystal, BiB3O6. The 532 nm radiation is obtained by single-pass second-harmonic generation of the Yb-fiber laser in a 30-mm-long MgO:sPPLT crystal. Using a 10-mm-long BiB3O6 crystal for SFG, with a measured angular acceptance bandwidth of 0.57 mrad, we generate as much as 68 mW of CW single-frequency UV radiation with a passive power stability better than 3.2% rms over 2 h and frequency stability better than 436 MHz over 2.5 h. The UV output beam has a TEM00 spatial profile with M(x)(2)<1.6 and M(y)(2)<1.8.

Antiresonant ring output-coupled continuous-wave optical parametric oscillator.

We demonstrate the successful deployment of an antiresonant ring (ARR) interferometer for the attainment of optimum output coupling in a continuous-wave (cw) optical parametric oscillator (OPO). The cw OPO, configured as a singly-resonant oscillator (SRO), is based on a 50-mm-long MgO:PPLN crystal and pumped by cw Ytterbium-fiber laser at 1064 nm, with the ARR interferometer integrated into one arm of the standing-wave cavity. By fine adjustment of the ARR transmission, a continuously variable signal output coupling from 0.8% to 7.3% has been achieved, providing optimum output coupling for signal and optimum power extraction for the idler, at different input pumping levels. The experimental results are compared with theoretical calculations for conventional output-coupled cw SRO, and the study shows that by reducing the insertion loss of the ARR elements, the performance of the ARR-coupled cw SRO can be further enhanced. We also show that the use of the ARR does not lead to any degradation in the cw SRO output beam quality. The proof-of-principle demonstration confirms the effectiveness of the technique for continuous, in situ, and fine control of output coupling in cw OPOs to achieve maximum output power at any arbitrary pumping level above threshold.

High-power, continuous-wave, single-frequency, all-periodically-poled, near-infrared source.

We report a high-power, single-frequency, continuous-wave (cw) source tunable across 775-807 nm in the near-infrared, based on internal second harmonic generation (SHG) of a cw singly-resonant optical parametric oscillator (OPO) pumped by a Yb-fiber laser. The compact, all-periodically-poled source employs a 48-mm-long, multigrating MgO doped periodically poled lithium niobate (MgO:PPLN) crystal for the OPO and a 30-mm-long, fan-out grating MgO-doped stoichiometric periodically poled lithium tantalate (MgO:sPPLT) crystal for intracavity SHG, providing as much as 3.7 W of near-infrared power at 793 nm, together with 4 W of idler power at 3232 nm, at an overall extraction efficiency of 28%. Further, the cw OPO is tunable across 3125-3396 nm in the idler, providing as much as 4.3 W at 3133 nm with >3.8 W over 77% of the tuning range together with >3 W of near-infrared power across 56% of SHG tuning range, in high-spatial beam-quality with M2<1.4. The SHG output has an instantaneous linewidth of 8.5 MHz and exhibits a passive power stability better than 3.5% rms over more than 1 min.

Mode-locked, continuous-wave, singly resonant optical parametric oscillator.

We report an actively mode-locked continuous-wave (cw) optical parametric oscillator in singly resonant oscillator (SRO) configuration, generating stable 230 ps pulses at 80 MHz repetition rate. The idler-resonant cw SRO, configured in standing-wave cavity, is based on MgO:sPPLT as the nonlinear gain material and pumped at 532 nm. Mode-locking is achieved by direct deployment of an intracavity phase modulator close to one of the SRO cavity end mirrors. The effects of modulation depth and modulation frequency on mode-locked pulse duration and repetition rate are investigated for both idler and signal pulses. Mode-locking is further confirmed by enhancement of single-pass second-harmonic generation of SRO output in the crystal of ß-BaB(2)O(4).

Frequency-modulation-mode-locked optical parametric oscillator.

We demonstrate a novel technique for the generation of mode-locked pulses from a continuous-wave (cw) optical parametric oscillator (OPO). The technique is based on the deployment of a phase modulator in combination with an antiresonant ring interferometer internal to a cw OPO, simultaneously providing spectral broadening and phase-to-amplitude feedback modulation. The scheme is implemented in a doubly-resonant cw OPO based on MgO:sPPLT, configured in a standing-wave cavity and pumped at 532 nm. With the phase modulator activated and the cavity length synchronized, a stable train of 800 ps pulses is generated at a repetition rate of 160 MHz. Using single-pass second harmonic generation (SHG) of the OPO output, we observe a four times enhancement in SHG compared with cw operation, confirming the real achievement of energy concentration as a result of mode-locked operation.

Single-frequency, high-power, continuous-wave fiber-laser-pumped Ti:sapphire laser.

We demonstrate a high-power, continuous-wave (cw), single-frequency green source based on single-pass second-harmonic generation of a Yb-fiber laser in MgO:sPPLT as a viable pump source for a cw single-frequency Ti:sapphire ring laser. By careful design and optimization, the Ti:sapphire laser can provide as much as 2.3 W of cw single-frequency output across a 47 nm tuning range, limited by the reflectivity of the cavity mirrors. By implementing active stabilization of the laser frequency to an external reference, an ultrastable Fabry-Perot interferometer, we obtain a frequency stability better than 12 MHz over 10 min and continuous tunability greater than 180 MHz. Stable output power with peak-to-peak fluctuation of 5.4% over 75 min, in high spatial beam quality with M(2)<1.34, is achieved.