Demonstration of 4.5 to 14 /spl mu/m wavelength generation from Er:YAG laser pumped AgGaSe/sub 2/ and CdSe optical parameteric oscillators

Summary form only given. In the areas of biological and chemical sensing, besides the familiar 3-5 mid-wave infrared (MWIR) and 8-12 /spl mu/m long-wave infrared (LWIR) wavelength bands commonly utilized in atmospheric remote sensing, the 5-8 /spl mu/m wavelength band also has several significant applications. The water absorption at 6.05 /spl mu/m, protein absorption near 6.4 /spl mu/m, and absorption due to carbonates in the 6.8-7.1 /spl mu/m wavelength regions are found to be valuable for various medical applications. Although, the 5-8 /spl mu/m band is not very useful for atmospheric remote sensing due to severe atmospheric attenuation in this wavelength region, it is particularly interesting for tissue ablation and short-range chemical diagnostic analysis. A convenient method to obtain these wavelengths is via nonlinear optical processes such as optical parametric oscillation in certain nonlinear crystals. Until recently, practical coherent optical sources operating in this band were either scarce or did not cover the entire 5-8 /spl mu/m region. In the paper, the generation of continuously tunable wavelengths in 4.5-8 /spl mu/m and 8-14 /spl mu/m regions from a 2.936 /spl mu/m Er:YAG laser pumped AgGaSe/sub 2/ and CdSe OPOs, respectively, are discussed.