Concept for power scaling second harmonic generation using a cascade of nonlinear crystals

Upconversion detection of 1.25 Gb/s mid-infrared telecommunications using a silicon avalanche photodiode

With an ever-increasing interest in secure and reliable free-space optical communication, upconversion detectors enabled through nonlinear optical processes are an attractive route to transmitting data as a mid-infrared signal. This spectral region is known to have a higher transmissivity through the atmosphere. In this work, we present an upconversion scheme for detection in the silicon absorption band using magnesium-oxide doped periodically poled lithium niobate to generate 21 mW of a 3.4 µm signal from commercial laser sources using a difference frequency generation process. Following a further nonlinear frequency conversion, via sum-frequency generation, the resulting signal at 809 nm is detected. We achieve >50 µW of signal and bit error rates of 10^-7 from a single-pass nonlinear conversion for both the transmitter and receiver systems without the need for additional optical amplifiers at the receiving end. The error rates due to potentially reduced laser powers at the receiver end are investigated and laser noise transfer through our system is discussed.

Coherent combining of high brightness tapered amplifiers for efficient non-linear conversion

We report on a coherent beam combination of three high-brightness tapered amplifiers, which are seeded by a single-frequency laser at λ = 976 nm in a simple architecture with efficiently cooled emitters. The maximal combined power of 12.9 W is achieved at a combining efficiency of > 65%, which is limited by the amplifiers' intrinsic beam quality. The coherent combination cleans up the spatial profile, as the central lobe's power content increases by up to 86%. This high-brightness infrared beam is converted into the visible by second harmonic generation. This results in a high non-linear conversion efficiency of 4.5%/W and a maximum power over 2 W at 488 nm, which is limited by thermal effects in the periodically poled lithium niobate (PPLN).

Thermal dephasing in an enhanced cavity based high-power second harmonic generation

We report on the performance of an enhanced-cavity (EC) designed for obtaining high-power and efficiency second-harmonic generation (SHG). This is performed by numerical simulation of SHG coupled equations in the presence of a thermal dephasing effect that is effectively intensified through embedding the periodically poled LiNbO₃ crystal by an oven-surrounded scheme. It is found that by setting the PPLN temperature at an optimum value, adjusting the mirror reflectively, and pumping power at certain values, gaining SHG efficiency of more than 90% is possible. We further realized that by an ECSHG device SHG efficiency can be improved by about 15%-50%. Moreover, compared to a single-pass SHG scheme, the EC-based SHG device is shown to be a very promising candidate to reduce and suppress the effect of thermal dephasing on the stability and efficiency of SHG radiation.

Deep modulation of second-harmonic light by wavelength detuning of a laser diode

Power modulated visible lasers are interesting for a number of applications within areas such as laser displays and medical laser treatments. In this paper, we present a system for modulating the second-harmonic light generated by single-pass frequency doubling of a distributed feedback (DFB) master oscillator power amplifier (MOPA) laser diode with separate electrical contacts for the MO and the PA. A modulation depth in excess of 97% from 0.1 Hz to 10 kHz is demonstrated. This is done by wavelength tuning of the laser diode using only a 40 mA adjustment of the current through the MO. The bandwidth of the modulation is limited by the electronics. This method has the potential to decrease the size as well as cost of modulated visible lasers. The achievable optical powers will increase as DFB MOPAs are further developed.

Efficient generation of 1.9 W yellow light by cascaded frequency doubling of a distributed Bragg reflector tapered diode

Watt-level yellow emitting lasers are interesting for medical applications, due to their high hemoglobin absorption, and for efficient detection of certain fluorophores. In this paper, we demonstrate a compact and robust diode-based laser system in the yellow spectral range. The system generates 1.9 W of single-frequency light at 562.4 nm by cascaded single-pass frequency doubling of the 1124.8 nm emission from a distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) tapered laser diode. The absence of a free-space cavity makes the system stable over a base-plate temperature range of 30 K. At the same time, the use of a laser diode enables the modulation of the pump wavelength by controlling the drive current. This is utilized to achieve a power modulation depth above 90% for the second harmonic light, with a rise time below 40  μs.

Continuous-wave, single-pass, single-frequency second-harmonic-generation at 266 nm based on birefringent-multicrystal scheme

We report the implementation of a compact cascaded multicrystal scheme based on birefringent crystals in critical phase-matching, for the generation of continuous-wave (cw) radiation in the deep ultraviolet (UV). The approach comprises a cascade of 4 single-pass second-harmonic-generation (SHG) stages in β-BaB₂O₄ (BBO) pumped by a single-frequency cw green source at 532 nm. A deep-UV cw output power of 37.7 mW at 266 nm has been obtained with a high passive power stability of 0.12% rms over more than 4 hours. Characterization and optimization of the system in each stage has been systematically performed. Angular phase-matching acceptance bandwidth under tight focusing in BBO, and spectral properties of the deep-UV radiation, have been studied. Theoretical calculations for SHG in the cascaded scheme based on birefringent phase-matching have been performed, and enhancement in UV power compared to single-stage single-pass scheme are studied. Theoretical comparison of BBO with other potential crystals for deep-UV generation in cascaded multicrystal scheme is also presented.

Highly efficient single-pass sum frequency generation by cascaded nonlinear crystals

The cascading of nonlinear crystals has been established as a simple method to greatly increase the conversion efficiency of single-pass second-harmonic generation compared to a single-crystal scheme. Here, we show for the first time that the technique can be extended to sum frequency generation, despite differences in the phase relations of the involved fields. An unprecedented 5.5 W of continuous-wave diffraction-limited green light is generated from the single-pass sum frequency mixing of two diode lasers in two periodically poled nonlinear crystals (conversion efficiency 50%). The technique is generally applicable and can be applied to any combination of fundamental wavelengths and nonlinear crystals.