TUNABLE BBO/AGGASE2 OPTICAL PARAMETRIC OSCILLATOR SYSTEM

IN ORDER TO PROVIDE EFFICIENT,TUNABLE BROAD-BAND SOURCES OF COHERENT RADIATION, THIS PROJECT WILL INVESTIGATE THE FEASIBILITY OF COMPACT, SOLID-STATE OPTICAL PARAMETRIC OSCILLATORS (OPOS) USING BBO AND AGGASE2 WITH A COMMON LASERPUMP TO COVER THE WAVELENGTH REGION FROM 0.19U. TO 11U. A ND:YAG LASER OPERATING AT 1.064U IS THE BEST COMMON PUMP. THE FOURTH HARMONIC OF THIS LINE WILL PUMP THE BBO OPO. A PARAMETRICALLY DOUBLED WAVE LENGTH WILL SERVE FOR THE AGGASE2 OPO. THE PHASE 1 EFFORT WILL DETERMINE THE BASIC PERFORMANCE OF THESE OPOS AND MEASURE THE EFFICIENCY OF THE PUMP AND THE THREE-WAVE MIXING STEPS NECESSARY IN THE USE OFA COMMON LASER PUMP. THE GENERATION OF SHORT AND LONG WAVELENGTH PUMPING WILL BE OPTIMIZED, AND A SYSTEM USING A COMMON LASER PUMP AND DUAL OPOS WILL BE DEMONSTRATED IN THE LABORATORY. OVERALL SYSTEM EFFICIENCY WILL BE CALCULATED AND COMPARED WITH EXPERIMENTAL DATA.