Abstract

Orientation-Patterned GaAs(OP-GaAs) is a nonlinear crystal that offers unique advantages to generate a widely tunable radiation in the mid-infrared spectral range with an optical parametric oscillator (OPO). A grating tunable OPO based on this crystal was already reported with a tuning range of 4–14 µm and a linewidth between 2 and 6 cm⁻¹ [1]. However, to the best of our knowledge, a single-frequency OPO based on OP-GaAs has never been demonstrated so far whereas this property is highly desirable to selective detection of chemical species in the atmosphere. We report here on single-frequency emission in OP-GaAs using a nested cavity OPO (NesCOPO) configuration [2]. Single-frequency emission and multispecies detection has already been demonstrated with such devices near 2 µm, as well as in the 3–5 µm range [3].

© 2015 IEEE