Skip to main content
U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Broadly tunable picosecond IR source

Patent ·
OSTI ID:864339

A picosecond traveling-wave parametric device capable of controlled spectral bandwidth and wavelength in the infrared is reported. Intense 1.064 .mu.m picosecond pulses (1) pass through a 4.5 cm long LiNbO.sub.3 optical parametric oscillator crystal (2) set at its degeneracy angle. A broad band emerges, and a simple grating (3) and mirror (4) arrangement is used to inject a selected narrow-band into a 2 cm long LiNbO.sub.3 optical parametric amplifier crystal (5) along a second pump line. Typical input energies at 1.064 .mu.m along both pump lines are 6-8 mJ for the oscillator and 10 mJ for the amplifier. This yields 1 mJ of tunable output in the range 1.98 to 2.38 .mu.m which when down-converted in a 1 cm long CdSe crystal mixer (6) gives 2 .mu.J of tunable radiation over the 14.8 to 18.5 .mu.m region. The bandwidth and wavelength of both the 2 and 16 .mu.m radiation output are controlled solely by the diffraction grating.

Research Organization:
Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM
DOE Contract Number:
W-7405-ENG-36
Assignee:
United Stated of America as represented by Department of Energy (Washington, DC)
Patent Number(s):
US 4349907
OSTI ID:
864339
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English