Optical parametric generator (OPG) for 1.38 to 1.56 /spl mu/m with up to 0.5 W average power in 270-fs pulses at 35 MHz

Summary form only given. We present the first optical parametric generator that is directly pumped with a mode-locked laser at the full laser repetition rate. The single-pass OPG scheme is significantly simpler than previous femtosecond parametric generators, which always required amplified pump sources, e.g, based on a mode-locked oscillator and a regenerative amplifier operated at a repetition rate of typically far below 1 MHz. In contrast to an ultrafast optical parametric oscillator, we do not require an oscillator cavity which would have to be synchronized to the pump laser.