Multiline optical parametric oscillators based on periodically poled lithium niobate

Summary form only given.Coherent sources emitting in the mid-infrared spectral region have received growing interest over the last few years owing to their numerous applications. Optical parametric oscillators (OPOs), pumped by reliable diode-pumped solid-state lasers offer an attractive route to this wavelength region providing flexibility in operating wavelength and, via the use of periodically poled nonlinear crystals, very high efficiency. For many applications the requirement for a particular operating wavelength is satisfied by the appropriate choice of grating period. In such situations the emission linewidth is typically rather narrow with its upper limit determined by the phase-matching bandwidth (/spl ap/few nm). For some remote sensing applications, multiple wavelength emission spanning a much wider spectral region (>100 nm) is desirable. We report two approaches for producing multiple signal and idler wavelengths in an OPO-based periodically poled lithium niobate with multiple grating periods. The two approaches differ in the geometrical arrangement of the grating periods, one having a series arrangement and the other a parallel arrangement, but in both cases sharing common cavity mirrors.