Fibre-laser-pumped femtosecond PPLN OPO
Fibre-laser-pumped femtosecond PPLN OPO
High-power fibre laser systems are an emerging technology for compact, robust and stable generation of ultrashort pulses. Their power levels have now converged with the power levels needed for efficient frequency conversion in quasi phase matched (QPM) nonlinear materials such as periodically poled LiNbO3 (PPLN). The combination of these two technologies is seen as an attractive method for producing broadly tunable ultrashort pulses.
Here we present results of a synchronously pumped optical parametric oscillator (SPOPO) in PPLN, pumped by an Yb-doped, fibre laser source[1] in a master oscillator power amplifier scheme. The operating characteristics of this system will be described, including its tuning behaviour, the role of cavity-length-dependent effects, the effect of dispersion and its compensation using an SF10 prism pair.
The experimental set-up is shown in Fig. 1. The high power fibre source generates 300fs pulses at a repetition rate of 54MHz, delivering a maximum average power of 200mW to the OPO. An operating pump wavelength of 1.056µm was chosen for these experiments. For the SPOPO, a 5mm-long PPLN crystal was used with grating periods covering the signal range 1.65-2.1 µm (implied idler output 2.1 - 3.0 µm). A threshold of 20mW was measured for the case of an all high reflector cavity.
The performance confirms the practicality of combining fibre laser systems with synchronously pumped OPOs. The low threshold and associated high gain suggest that the recently demonstrated use of a diffraction grating, in a picosecond SPOPO, to provide agile tuning, should be compatible with this femtosecond system. Ongoing work is aimed at demonstrating this.
Fig. 1 - Schematic of OPO set-up.
O'Connor, M.V.
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Watson, M.A.
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Hanna, D.C.
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Shepherd, D.P.
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Lefort, L.
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Price, J.H.V.
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Malinowski, A.
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Nilsson, J.
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Broderick, N.G.R.
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Richardson, D.J.
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O'Connor, M.V.
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Watson, M.A.
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Hanna, D.C.
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Shepherd, D.P.
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Lefort, L.
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Price, J.H.V.
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Malinowski, A.
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Nilsson, J.
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Broderick, N.G.R.
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Richardson, D.J.
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O'Connor, M.V., Watson, M.A., Hanna, D.C., Shepherd, D.P., Lefort, L., Price, J.H.V., Malinowski, A., Nilsson, J., Broderick, N.G.R. and Richardson, D.J.
(2001)
Fibre-laser-pumped femtosecond PPLN OPO.
QEP-15: 15th Biennial Meeting of the Institute of Physics Quantum Electronics and Photonics Group, Glasgow, United Kingdom.
03 - 06 Sep 2001.
1 pp
.
Record type:
Conference or Workshop Item
(Paper)
Abstract
High-power fibre laser systems are an emerging technology for compact, robust and stable generation of ultrashort pulses. Their power levels have now converged with the power levels needed for efficient frequency conversion in quasi phase matched (QPM) nonlinear materials such as periodically poled LiNbO3 (PPLN). The combination of these two technologies is seen as an attractive method for producing broadly tunable ultrashort pulses.
Here we present results of a synchronously pumped optical parametric oscillator (SPOPO) in PPLN, pumped by an Yb-doped, fibre laser source[1] in a master oscillator power amplifier scheme. The operating characteristics of this system will be described, including its tuning behaviour, the role of cavity-length-dependent effects, the effect of dispersion and its compensation using an SF10 prism pair.
The experimental set-up is shown in Fig. 1. The high power fibre source generates 300fs pulses at a repetition rate of 54MHz, delivering a maximum average power of 200mW to the OPO. An operating pump wavelength of 1.056µm was chosen for these experiments. For the SPOPO, a 5mm-long PPLN crystal was used with grating periods covering the signal range 1.65-2.1 µm (implied idler output 2.1 - 3.0 µm). A threshold of 20mW was measured for the case of an all high reflector cavity.
The performance confirms the practicality of combining fibre laser systems with synchronously pumped OPOs. The low threshold and associated high gain suggest that the recently demonstrated use of a diffraction grating, in a picosecond SPOPO, to provide agile tuning, should be compatible with this femtosecond system. Ongoing work is aimed at demonstrating this.
Fig. 1 - Schematic of OPO set-up.
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e-pub ahead of print date: 1 September 2001
Venue - Dates:
QEP-15: 15th Biennial Meeting of the Institute of Physics Quantum Electronics and Photonics Group, Glasgow, United Kingdom, 2001-09-03 - 2001-09-06
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Local EPrints ID: 17142
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/17142
PURE UUID: 771353b8-9c77-4c3a-b3e0-d78496e8fb15
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Date deposited: 16 Sep 2005
Last modified: 16 Mar 2024 03:01
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Contributors
Author:
M.V. O'Connor
Author:
M.A. Watson
Author:
D.C. Hanna
Author:
D.P. Shepherd
Author:
L. Lefort
Author:
J.H.V. Price
Author:
A. Malinowski
Author:
J. Nilsson
Author:
N.G.R. Broderick
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