Abstract

An injection-seeded optical parametric oscillator (OPO) based on periodically poled ${\mathrm{KTiOPO}}_4$ is pumped at 532 nm by relatively long (∼27-ns) pulses from a specially constructed Nd:YAG laser. This pulsed OPO system generates continuously tunable, single-longitudinal-mode output at signal wavelengths near 842 nm, which is suitable for high-resolution spectroscopy. Optical-heterodyne measurements show that chirp in the instantaneous frequency of the pulsed OPO signal output radiation increases linearly as the seed frequency is detuned from the free-running (unseeded) OPO frequency. The frequency chirp can be maintained below 10 MHz, which is substantially less than the Fourier-transform-limited optical bandwidth (17.5 MHz full width at half-maximum for a 25-ns OPO signal pulse) and is insensitive to variation of the fluence of the pump radiation. The effects of detuning the OPO cavity length from resonance with the seed frequency and the onset of partially seeded OPO operation are also investigated.

© 2004 Optical Society of America

Transition from single-mode to multimode operation of an injection-seeded pulsed optical parametric oscillator

Richard T. White, Yabai He, Brian J. Orr, Mitsuhiko Kono, and K. G. H. Baldwin
Opt. Express 12(23) 5655-5660 (2004)

Pulsed injection-seeded optical parametric oscillator with low frequency chirp for high-resolution spectroscopy

Richard T. White, Yabai He, Brian J. Orr, Mitsuhiko Kono, and K. G. H. Baldwin
Opt. Lett. 28(14) 1248-1250 (2003)

Control of frequency chirp in nanosecond-pulsed laser spectroscopy. 3. Spectrotemporal dynamics of an injection-seeded optical parametric oscillator

Richard T. White, Yabai He, Brian J. Orr, Mitsuhiko Kono, and K. G. H. Baldwin
J. Opt. Soc. Am. B 24(10) 2601-2609 (2007)

Control of frequency chirp in nanosecond-pulsed laser spectroscopy. 1. Optical-heterodyne chirp analysis techniques

Richard T. White, Yabai He, Brian J. Orr, Mitsuhiko Kono, and K. G. H. Baldwin
J. Opt. Soc. Am. B 21(9) 1577-1585 (2004)

Heterodyne-assisted pulsed spectroscopy with a nearly Fourier-transform limited, injection-seeded optical parametric oscillator

Mitsuhiko Kono, Kenneth G.H. Baldwin, Yabai He, Richard T. White, and Brian J. Orr
Opt. Lett. 30(24) 3413-3415 (2005)