Abstract

Owing to its high effective nonlinear coefficient (≈ 9.5 pm/V), high photorefractive damage threshold, low susceptibility to thermal lensing as well as the wide commercial availability of the KTiOPO₄ substrate, periodically-poled KTiOPP₄ (PP-KTP) is a very attractive material for nonlinear frequency conversion applications. In particular, when used in an optical parametric oscillator (OPO), these advantages enable pumping by a CW visible source, operation near room temperature and a low threshold. All these features were demonstrated by the OPO device reported here. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of continuous-wave operation of an OPO employing a PP-KTP crystal.

© 1998 IEEE