Parametric light generation.
Since its invention more than 40 years ago, the laser has become an indispensable optical tool, capable of transforming light from its naturally incoherent state to a highly coherent state in space and time. Yet, due to fundamental limitations, operation of the laser remains confined to restricted spectral and temporal regions. Nonlinear optics can overcome this limitation by allowing access to new spectral and temporal regimes through the exploitation of suitable dielectric materials in combination with the laser. In particular, optical parametric oscillators are versatile coherent light sources with unique flexibility that can provide optical radiation across an entire spectral range from the ultraviolet to the far-infrared and over all temporal scales from continuous wave to the ultrafast femtosecond domain.
Ebrahimzadeh
M
M
School of Physics and Astronomy, University of St Andrews, North Haugh, St Andrews, Fife KY16 9SS, UK. me@st-andrews.ac.uk