Diode Pumped Parametric Oscillator

Direct pumping of an OPO by diode laser represents the most desirable and most efficient configuration for a parametric source in the mid-infrared. Combining recent advances in single frequency diode lasers with advanced nonlinear materials offering advantageous phase matching properties, we propose to demonstrate a parametric oscillator directly pumped by a laser diode. As state-of-the-art diode laser pump sources provide sw and quasi-cw output, the parametric oscillator will operate in a cw or long pulse regime. In contrast to previous cw parametric oscillators, the system will rely on non-degenarate operation of the OPO, thus providing 2 distinct output wavelengths, with the signal and/or idler output lying in a region of high atmospheric transmission. Our design utilizes a non-critically phase matched interaction in silver thiogallate, AgGaS sub2 , to achieve a long interaction length and low threshold. Singly resonant operation as well as a lower threshold doubly resonant system will be explored. Following the evaluation of various pump/oscillator designs, the proposed Phase I program includes a series of risk reduction experiments to verify the baseline design and choice of nonlinear gain medium. These experiments include the demonstration of a cw pumped doubly resonant OPO.