title: Subnanosecond, mid-IR, 0.5 kHz periodically poled stoichiometric LiTaO3 optical parametric oscillator with over 1 W average power.
abstract: We report a subnanosecond mid-IR tunable optical parametric oscillator based on periodically poled stoichiometric lithium tantalate (PPSLT), pumped by an amplified single frequency microchip laser at 1064 nm at a repetition rate of 0.5 kHz. Using a 20 mm long PPSLT crystal polled with three different domain periods (30.2, 30.3, and 30.4 μm) and changing the temperature of the crystal from 20°C to 265°C, we achieved wavelength tuning between 2990 and 3500 nm. The high nonlinearity of the used medium and the large aperture (3.2 mm) ensure maximum idler output energy of ~2 mJ in the whole tuning range, corresponding to 18% idler conversion efficiency and more than 1 W of average power. 270 ps idler pulse durations were obtained as a result of the 818 ps pulse duration of the pump.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, Sofia University, Sofia, Bulgaria.
authors.forename: Danail
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Chuchumishev
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gaydardzhiev
authors.forename: Torsten
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Fiebig
authors.forename: Ivan
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Buchvarov
mesh_terms: D000042:Absorption; D007259:Infrared Rays; D007834:Lasers; D008094:Lithium; D055620:Optical Phenomena; D010087:Oxides; D013635:Tantalum; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D010087:Oxides; C473347:lithium tantalate oxide; D013635:Tantalum; D008094:Lithium