High-repetition-rate β barium borate visible range femtosecond optical parametric oscillator

Abstract

High-repetition-rate femtosecond optical parametric oscillators (OPO) are potentially very useful devices in many areas of science due to their wide tunability, relatively short pulse duration, and automatic synchronisation with the pump laser, which can allow, for example, sum and difference frequency generation, further extending the range of tunability of the OPO. To date, continuous wave fem­tosecond OPOs have mostly employed KTP,1–3 mainly pumped by the fundamental wavelengths of a Ti:sapphire laser. These sources operate in the near- to mid-infrared, although intracavity frequency doubling of a KTP OPO has been described recently.4