Generation of broadly tunable picosecond mid-infrared laser and sensitive detection of a mid-infrared signal by parametric frequency up-conversion in MgO:LiNbO_3 optical parametric amplifiers
Picosecond optical parametric generation and amplification in the near-infrared region within 1.361-1.656 μm and the mid-infrared region within 2.976-4.875 μm is constructed on the basis of bulk MgO:LiNbO 3 crystals pumped at 1.064 μm.The maximum pulse energy reaches 1.3 mJ at 1.464 μm and 0.47 mJ a...
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Published in | Chinese physics B Vol. 21; no. 5; pp. 294 - 299 |
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Main Author | |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
01.05.2012
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Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
ISSN | 1674-1056 2058-3834 |
DOI | 10.1088/1674-1056/21/5/054213 |
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Summary: | Picosecond optical parametric generation and amplification in the near-infrared region within 1.361-1.656 μm and the mid-infrared region within 2.976-4.875 μm is constructed on the basis of bulk MgO:LiNbO 3 crystals pumped at 1.064 μm.The maximum pulse energy reaches 1.3 mJ at 1.464 μm and 0.47 mJ at 3.894 μm,corresponding to a pumpto-idler photon conversion efficiency of 25%.By seeding the hard-to-measure mid-infrared radiation as the idler in the optical parametric amplification and measuring the amplified and frequency up-converted signal in the near-infrared or even visible region,one can measure very week mid-infrared radiation with ordinary detectors,which are insensitive to mid-infrared radiation,with a very high gain.A maximum gain factor of about 7 脳 10 7 is achieved at the mid-infrared wavelength of 3.374 μm and the corresponding energy detection limit is as low as about 390 aJ per pulse. |
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Bibliography: | Picosecond optical parametric generation and amplification in the near-infrared region within 1.361-1.656 μm and the mid-infrared region within 2.976-4.875 μm is constructed on the basis of bulk MgO:LiNbO 3 crystals pumped at 1.064 μm.The maximum pulse energy reaches 1.3 mJ at 1.464 μm and 0.47 mJ at 3.894 μm,corresponding to a pumpto-idler photon conversion efficiency of 25%.By seeding the hard-to-measure mid-infrared radiation as the idler in the optical parametric amplification and measuring the amplified and frequency up-converted signal in the near-infrared or even visible region,one can measure very week mid-infrared radiation with ordinary detectors,which are insensitive to mid-infrared radiation,with a very high gain.A maximum gain factor of about 7 脳 10 7 is achieved at the mid-infrared wavelength of 3.374 μm and the corresponding energy detection limit is as low as about 390 aJ per pulse. Zhang Qiu-Lin ,Zhang Jing ,Qiu Kang-Sheng ,Zhang Dong-Xiang ,Feng Bao-Hua ,and Zhang Jing-Yuan a) Beijing National Laboratory for Condensed Matter Physics,Institute of Physics,Chinese Academy of Sciences,Beijing 100190,China b) Department of Physics,Georgia Southern University,Statesboro,GA 30460,USA optical parametric amplifiers, picoseconds mid-infrared laser, sensitive detection 11-5639/O4 |
ISSN: | 1674-1056 2058-3834 |
DOI: | 10.1088/1674-1056/21/5/054213 |