Synchronously-pumped Optical Parametric Oscillator Generating 1.0 – 3.0 μm Femtosecond Pulses with a Single Set of Cavity Mirrors

The generation of femtosecond pulses tunable from 1 μm to 3 μm is demonstrated with a single set of cavity mirrors for an optical parametric oscillator that is synchronously pumped by using a mode-locked Ti:sapphire laser. The output coupling of the intra-cavity pulses was done by inserting a BK7 window in the cavity, and a periodically-poled MgO-doped lithium niobate crystal was used for quasi-phase matching. The signal branch is tunable from 1 μm to 1.6 μm while the idler beam can be tuned in the range from 1.6 μm to 3.0 μm. The dependencies of the signal and the ilder tunings on the pump wavelength and the cavity length adjustments are discussed, and the spectrum and the pulse width measurements are described. KCI Citation Count: 0