Abstract

Compact, cw laser sources with output wavelengths that are matched to the fundamental absorption bands of certain molecules are required for remote sensing, pollution analysis, and medical monitoring. Although Pb-salt diodes have output wavelengths in the desired spectral region, they are quite expensive and operate exclusively at cryogenic temperatures. Nonlinear difference frequency generation (DFG) is an alternative method of generating output for these applications. In this paper we describe the results of several experiments in which a near infrared input was mixed with the intracavity field of a neodymium laser to generate difference frequency output in the mid infrared. These results show that intracavity DFG is a efficient, versatile source in the mid IR.

© 1994 Optical Society of America