Project Summary
Compact, all-solid-state, short pulse laser sources in the near to middle infrared spectral range are of fundamental interest for numerous scientific and industrial applications including materials processing, high efficient nonlinear optical conversion, and generation of terahertz radiation (THz). Majority of these applications require pulse width as short as several nanoseconds or even less. The pulse energies have also to be sufficiently high enough to allow high efficiency of the processes involved. The average power of the laser emission has also to be large enough to enable high throughput of the targeted application. Laser systems with such parameters that are also tunable in the mid_IR spectral range are currently not available both as scientific tools and commercial products. The main objective of this collaborative project will be the development of novel type laser system generating laser pulses in the mid-IR spectral range with sub-nanosecond pulse duration, (100 - 800 ps) with high pulse energy (>1mJ) at kilohertz repetition rate. For the mid-IR OPO, several materials with high nonlinear coefficients will be employed including periodically poled oxides like PPMgSLT and PPKTA. In both cases non-critical phase-matching will be utilized and temperature tuning as well tuning by composition will be studied. THz generation in the frequency range between 0.7 and 3 THz through signal and idler difference frequency generation in quasi-phase matched gallium arsenide. In the final stage of the project, tuneable THz generator will be built, utilizing the parametric scattering of light in nonlinear optical crystals, such as LiNbO3 or Mg:LiNbO3.