Abstract
We report on the investigation of thermal effects in high-repetition-rate pulsed optical parametric oscillators emitting in the mid-IR. We find that the thermal load induced by the nonresonant idler absorption plays a critical role in the emergence of thermally induced bistability. We then demonstrate a significant improvement of the conversion efficiency (more than 30%) when a proper axial temperature gradient is applied to the nonlinear crystal by use of a two-zone temperature-controlled oven.
© 2010 Optical Society of America
Full Article | PDF ArticleMore Like This
Florian Kienle, Kang K. Chen, Shaif-ul Alam, Corin B. E. Gawith, Jacob I. Mackenzie, David C. Hanna, David J. Richardson, and David P. Shepherd
Opt. Express 18(8) 7602-7610 (2010)
P. Loza-Alvarez, C. T. A. Brown, D. T. Reid, W. Sibbett, and M. Missey
Opt. Lett. 24(21) 1523-1525 (1999)
A. Esteban-Martin, O. Kokabee, and M. Ebrahim-Zadeh
Opt. Lett. 33(22) 2650-2652 (2008)