We report a continuous-wave, singly resonant optical parametric oscillator (SRO) at 3.3 mu m by using a MgO:PPLN crystal as the gain medium and a Yb-fiber laser at 1.064 mu m as the pump source. At 25-W pump power, the SRO generated 7.4 and 0.2-W powers at 1.57 and 3.3 mu m, respectively. The 3.3-mu m SRO has a single-longitudinal-mode output with a ~5-MHz linewidth. We observed thermally induced optical bistability in the SRO due to the slight absorption of the 3.3-mu m wave in the MgO:PPLN crystal. Pump depletion was clamped at 60% while spectral hole burning was observed in the depleted pump.
We present a versatile mid-infrared frequency comb spectroscopy system based on a doubly resonant optical parametric oscillator tunable in the 3-5.4 {mu}m range and two detection methods, a Fourier transform spectrometer (FTS) and a Vernier spectrometer. Using the FTS with a multipass cell we measure high-precision broadband absorption spectra of CH$_4$ and NO at ~3.3 {mu}m and ~5.2 {mu}m, respectively, and of atmospheric species (CH$_4$, CO, CO$_2$ and H$_2$O) in air in the signal and idler wavelength range. The figure of merit of the system is on the order of 10$^{-8}$ cm$^{-1}$ Hz$^{-1/2}$ per spectral element, and multiline fitting yields minimum detectable concentrations of 10-20 ppb Hz$^{-1/2}$ for CH$_4$, NO and CO. For the first time in the mid-infrared, we perform continuous-filtering Vernier spectroscopy using a low finesse enhancement cavity, a grating and a single detector, and measure the absorption spectrum of CH$_4$ and H$_2$O in ambient air at ~3.3 {mu}m.
A 1632-nm laser has highly important applications in interfacing the wavelength of rubidium-based quantum memories (795 nm) and the telecom band (typically 1550 nm) by frequency conversion in three-wave mixing processes. A 1632-nm laser source based on pump-enhanced difference frequency generation is demonstrated. It has 300 mW of output power, in agreement with simulations, and a 55% quantum efficiency. An average power fluctuation of 0.51% over one hour was observed, and 200-kHz linewidth was measured using a delayed self-heterodyne method.
We report the first mode-locked fiber laser to operate in the femtosecond regime well beyond 3 {mu}m. The laser uses dual-wavelength pumping and non-linear polarisation rotation to produce 3.5 {mu}m wavelength pulses with minimum duration of 580 fs at a repetition rate of 68 MHz. The pulse energy is 3.2 nJ, corresponding to a peak power of 5.5 kW.
Low noise and high repetition rate optical frequency combs are desirable for many applications from timekeeping to precision spectroscopy. For example, gigahertz repetition rate sources greatly increase the acquisition speed of spectra in a dual-comb modality when compared to lower repetition rate sources, while still maintaining sufficient instantaneous resolution to resolve ro-vibrational signatures from molecules in a variety of conditions. In this paper, we present the stabilization and characterization of a turnkey commercial 1~GHz mode-locked laser that operates at telecom wavelengths (1.56 $mu$m). Fiber amplification and spectral broadening result in the high signal-to-noise ratio detection and stabilization of $textit{f}_{textit{ceo}}$ with 438 mrad of residual phase noise (integrated from 10$^2$ to 10$^7$ Hz). Simultaneously, we stabilize the beatnote between the nearest comb mode and a cavity stabilized continuous-wave laser at 1.55 $mu$m with 41 mrad of residual phase noise (integrated from 10$^2$ to 10$^7$ Hz). This robust, self-referenced comb system is built with off-the-shelf polarization-maintaining fiber components and will be useful for a wide range of low noise frequency comb applications that benefit from the increased repetition rate.
We report an all-polarization-maintaining fiber optic approach to generating sub-2 cycle pulses at 2 {mu}m and a corresponding octave-spanning optical frequency comb. Our configuration leverages mature Er:fiber laser technology at 1.5 {mu}m to provide a seed pulse for a thulium-doped fiber amplifier that outputs 330 mW average power at 100 MHz repetition rate. Following amplification, nonlinear self-compression in fiber decreases the pulse duration to 9.5 fs, or 1.4 optical cycles. Approximately 32 % of the energy sits within the pulse peak, and the polarization extinction ratio is more than 15 dB. The spectrum of the ultrashort pulse spans from 1 {mu}m to beyond 2.4 {mu}m and enables direct measurement of the carrier-envelope offset frequency using only 12 mW, or ~3.5 % of the total power. Our approach employs only commercially-available fiber components, resulting in a turnkey amplifier design that is compact, and easy to reproduce in the larger community. Moreover, the overall design and self-compression mechanism are scalable in repetition rate and power. As such, this system should be useful as a robust frequency comb source in the near-infrared or as a pump source to generate mid-infrared frequency combs.