Paper
2 June 1994 Compact tunable difference-frequency sources in the mid-infrared pumped by single-mode diode lasers
Ulrich Simon, Ingo Loa, Charles E. Miller, Robert F. Curl, Frank K. Tittel
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Abstract
The suitability of III-V single-mode cw diode lasers for difference-frequency generation of tunable IR radiation has been explored by mixing a red single-mode diode laser with a tunable single-mode cw Ti:Al2O3 laser in AgGaS2. More than 1 (mu) W of cw tunable, ((lambda) approximately equals 5 micrometers ), narrowband coherent radiation has been generated by using type I noncritical phasematching. The feasibility of a more compact, solid state cw laser source based on the mixing of two single-mode diode lasers (808 and 690 nm) as pump sources in AgGaS2 has also been demonstrated (infrared power generated approximately equals 3 nW). Techniques to increase the infrared difference-frequency output power level such as the use of a high-power optical semiconductor amplifier or an external buildup cavity for the nonlinear mixing crystal have been investigated. As much as 47 (mu) W of cw infrared radiation and 89 (mu) W of pulsed infrared radiation, tunable around 4.3 micrometers have been generated by mixing the outputs of a high-power tapered semiconductor amplifier at 858 nm and a Ti:Al2O3$ laser at 715 nm in AgGaS(subscript 2. The GaAlAs tapered traveling-wave amplifier delivered up to 1.5 W of diffraction- limited cw power into the nonlinear crystal. Recent progress in generating cw infrared radiation near 3.2 micrometers by mixing the outputs of an extended cavity diode laser near 800 nm (pump wave) and a compact diode-pumped Nd:YAG laser at 1064 nm (signal wave) in AgGaS2 with an external enhancement cavity to resonate the signal wave inside the nonlinear mixing crystal is also described.
© (1994) COPYRIGHT Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE). Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Ulrich Simon, Ingo Loa, Charles E. Miller, Robert F. Curl, and Frank K. Tittel "Compact tunable difference-frequency sources in the mid-infrared pumped by single-mode diode lasers", Proc. SPIE 2145, Nonlinear Optics for High-Speed Electronics and Optical Frequency Conversion, (2 June 1994); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.177154
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KEYWORDS
Semiconductor lasers

Optical amplifiers

Infrared radiation

Crystals

Continuous wave operation

Nonlinear crystals

Pulsed laser operation

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