Periodically poled MgO:LiNbO/sub 3/ optical parametric oscillator pumped by a single-frequency passively Q-switched microchip Nd:YAG laser

Summary form only given. Periodically poled lithium niobate (PPLN)-based quasi-phase-matching (QPM) optical parametric oscillator (OPO) has attracted a great deal of interest because of its large nonlinear optical coefficient. To prevent photorefractive effects, however, the crystal needs to be healed to high temperature, which limits the miniaturization of practical devices. MgO-doped LiNbO/sub 3/ has higher resistance to photorefractive damage. Recently, periodically poled MgO-doped LiNbO/sub 3/ (PPMgLN) with domain-inverted periods of 3-6 /spl mu/m for second-harmonic generation has been reported. In this report, we demonstrate a compact PPMgLN OPO pumped by a single-frequency passively Q-switched microchip Nd:YAG laser.