Hybrid seeded femtosecond optical parametric amplifier

Opt Express. 2005 Nov 28;13(24):9747-52. doi: 10.1364/opex.13.009747.

Abstract

We propose and demonstrate a novel hybrid seeded optical parametric amplifier (OPA) that incorporates an external CW seeding at signal wavelength in the first stage and difference-frequency mixing between the idler and pump in the second stage. By using a germanium plate to block the CW seeding background, spectrally and temporally clean signal pulses with duration less than 150 fs and energy up to 17 muJ are obtained with a MgO:LiNbO3-based hybrid seeded OPA. The device may provide direct tunability to some extent and delivers signal pulses tunable from 1.01 mum to 1.08 mum.