Broadly tunable mid-infrared femtosecond optical parametric oscillator using all-solid-state-pumped periodically poled lithium niobate

We describe a high-repetition-rate femtosecond optical parametric oscillator (OPO) that was broadly tunable in the mid infrared. The all-solid-state-pumped OPO was based on quasi-phase matching in periodically poled lithium niobate. The idler was tunable from approximately 1.7 mu m to beyond 5.4 mu m, with maximum average power levels greater than 200 mW and more than 20 mW of average power at 5.4 mu m. We used interferometric autocorrelation to characterize the mid-infrared idler pulses, which typically had durations of 125 fs. This OPO had a pumping threshold as low as 65 mW of average pump power, a maximum conversion efficiency of > 35% into the near-infrared signal, a slope efficiency for the signal of approximately 60%, and a maximum pump depletion of more than 85%. (C) 1997 Optical Society of America.