Abstract

High peak and average power coherent sources are needed throughout the infrared (IR). Nonlinear frequency conversion of existing lasers can provide these sources; however, thermal related factors have limited the performance of available IR nonlinear materials: AgGaS₂, AgGaSe₂, and ZnGeP₂. III-V and II-VI zincblende semiconductors such as GaAs and ZnSe have high thermal conductivities and low absorption coefficients, and are widely used for high power optics in the mid-IR. These cubic crystals also have large second order nonlinear susceptibilities; however, they cannot be birefringently phasematched, and, therefore, have not been used in practical frequency conversion applications.

© 1995 IEEE