Optical parametric oscillator generates continuously tunable 6–14-µm output

Sept. 1, 1997
Researchers have generated continuously tunable output in the 6–14-µm atmospheric transmission window with a silver gallium selenide (AgGaSe2) optical parametric oscillator (OPO).

Researchers led by Suresh Chandra and Toomas H. Allik of Science Applications International Corp. (McLean, VA) have generated continuously tunable output in the 614-µm atmospheric transmission window with a silver gallium selenide (AgGaSe2) optical parametric oscillator (OPO). When pumped by the 1.57-µm signal of a Nd:YAG-pumped noncritically phased-matched potassium titanyl phosphate (KTP) OPO, the angle-tuned AgGaSe2 OPO yielded the tunable output at energies up to 1.2 mJ/pulse with bandwidths of about 5 cm-1 (FWHM) using a 6.5 × 6.5 × 35.3-mm-long type I AgGaSe2 crystal.

The team demonstrated the usefulness of the idler output from the OPO as an optical source for a double-beam infrared spectrophotometer by obtaining the 612-µm spectrum of polystyrene. Government funding agencies are "very much interested in commercializing this technology," said Chandra, noting the potential of such OPOs to provide 812-µm output for lidar applications that are hampered by the gaps and depth resolution of CO2 laser pulses.

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