Abstract :
Optical parametric oscillators (OPOs) represent a versatile class of coherent light sources that can provide widely tunable radiation in spectral regions inaccessible to conventional lasers. The advent of birefringent and quasiphase-matched (QPM) nonlinear crystals such as BBO, LBO, PPLN and PPKTP, combined with the development of new laser sources based on solid-state, semiconductor, and fiber laser technologies, have led to the practical realisation of OPO devices with previously unattainable performance capabilities. Using novel resonator designs and pumping concepts based on intracavity, pump-resonant, and twin-cavity concepts, stable single-frequency operation of CW OPOs at practical powers from a few mW to greater than 1 W and mode-hop-free tuning over 50 GHz has been demonstrated.
Keywords :
boron compounds; laser cavity resonators; light sources; lithium compounds; neodymium compounds; optical materials; optical parametric oscillators; optical pumping; optical tuning; BBO; BaB2O4; CW OPO; KTP; KTiOPO4; LBO; LiB3O5; LiNbO3; birefringent nonlinear crystal; coherent light sources; fiber laser technologies; intracavity concept; laser sources; mode-hop-free tuning; novel resonator designs; optical parametric oscillators; optical pumping; periodically poled KTP; periodically poled LN; pump-resonant concept; quasiphase-matched nonlinear crystals; semiconductor laser; solid-state laser; spectral regions; stable single-frequency operation; twin-cavity concepts; Fiber lasers; Fiber nonlinear optics; Laser tuning; Nonlinear optics; Optical pumping; Optical resonators; Oscillators; Pump lasers; Semiconductor lasers; Solid lasers;
