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Title: Optical parametric osicllators with improved beam quality

Abstract

An optical parametric oscillator (OPO) having an optical pump, which generates a pump beam at a pump frequency greater than a desired signal frequency, a nonlinear optical medium oriented so that a signal wave at the desired signal frequency and a corresponding idler wave are produced when the pump beam (wave) propagates through the nonlinear optical medium, resulting in beam walk off of the signal and idler waves, and an optical cavity which directs the signal wave to repeatedly pass through the nonlinear optical medium, said optical cavity comprising an equivalently even number of non-planar mirrors that produce image rotation on each pass through the nonlinear optical medium. Utilizing beam walk off where the signal wave and said idler wave have nonparallel Poynting vectors in the nonlinear medium and image rotation, a correlation zone of distance equal to approximately .rho.L.sub.crystal is created which, through multiple passes through the nonlinear medium, improves the beam quality of the OPO output.

Inventors:
;
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Sandia National Lab. (SNL-CA), Livermore, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE
OSTI Identifier:
1174577
Patent Number(s):
6,647,033
Application Number:
09/846,445
Assignee:
Sandia Corporation (Albuquerque, NM)
DOE Contract Number:  
AC04-94AL85000
Resource Type:
Patent
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
42 ENGINEERING

Citation Formats

Smith, Arlee V., and Alford, William J. Optical parametric osicllators with improved beam quality. United States: N. p., 2003. Web.
Smith, Arlee V., & Alford, William J. Optical parametric osicllators with improved beam quality. United States.
Smith, Arlee V., and Alford, William J. 2003. "Optical parametric osicllators with improved beam quality". United States. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1174577.
@article{osti_1174577,
title = {Optical parametric osicllators with improved beam quality},
author = {Smith, Arlee V. and Alford, William J.},
abstractNote = {An optical parametric oscillator (OPO) having an optical pump, which generates a pump beam at a pump frequency greater than a desired signal frequency, a nonlinear optical medium oriented so that a signal wave at the desired signal frequency and a corresponding idler wave are produced when the pump beam (wave) propagates through the nonlinear optical medium, resulting in beam walk off of the signal and idler waves, and an optical cavity which directs the signal wave to repeatedly pass through the nonlinear optical medium, said optical cavity comprising an equivalently even number of non-planar mirrors that produce image rotation on each pass through the nonlinear optical medium. Utilizing beam walk off where the signal wave and said idler wave have nonparallel Poynting vectors in the nonlinear medium and image rotation, a correlation zone of distance equal to approximately .rho.L.sub.crystal is created which, through multiple passes through the nonlinear medium, improves the beam quality of the OPO output.},
doi = {},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1174577}, journal = {},
number = ,
volume = ,
place = {United States},
year = {Tue Nov 11 00:00:00 EST 2003},
month = {Tue Nov 11 00:00:00 EST 2003}
}

Works referenced in this record:

Image-rotating cavity designs for improved beam quality in nanosecond optical parametric oscillators
conference, January 2001


Defining the effective radius of curvature for a nonideal optical beam
journal, May 1991