Energy scaling of a narrowband, periodically poled LiNbO3, nanosecond, nonresonant optical parametric oscillator.

We demonstrate that 3-mm-thick, periodically poled L i N b O 3 enables energy scaling of a nonresonant optical parametric oscillator operated in the narrowband mode with a volume Bragg grating at the signal wavelength. Utilizing the full available pump power at 1064 nm, we obtained maximum average powers of 2.25 and 2.08 W for the signal (1.922 µm) and idler (2.383 µm) pulses at 10 kHz, at a total conversion efficiency of 32.8%, which represents a fourfold increase in terms of peak powers over our previous work. The signal and idler spectral linewidths were ∼1n m, with pulse lengths of ∼6n s and an idler beam propagation factor of ∼5.

Narrowband, intracavity-pumped, type-II BaGa2GeSe6 optical parametric oscillator.

We present a tunable (6.62-11.34 µm), singly-resonant, cascade optical parametric oscillator with intracavity pumping of BaGa2GeSe6 in the second stage and spectral narrowing realized by a Volume Bragg Grating acting on the signal wave of the first stage which serves as a pump for the second stage. The maximum energy achieved near 8 µm in the narrowband regime is 1.1 mJ at 100 Hz (spectral width: ∼20 cm-1, pulse duration: ∼7 ns). The overall conversion efficiency from 1 to 8 µm for broadband and narrowband operation is 4.0% and 3.1%, respectively, corresponding to quantum efficiencies of 31% and 23%.

Stabilization system for holographic recording of volume Bragg gratings using a corner cube retroreflector.

Volume Bragg gratings serve an important role in laser development as devices that are able to manipulate both the wavelength and angular spectrum of light. A common method for producing gratings is holographic recording of a two collimated beam interference pattern in a photosensitive material. This process requires stability of the recording system at a level of a fraction of the recording wavelength. A new method for measuring and stabilizing the phase of the recording beams is presented that is extremely flexible and simple to integrate into an existing holographic recording setup and independent of the type of recording media. It is shown that the presented method increases visibility of an interference pattern and for photo-thermo-refractive glass enables enhancement of the spatial refractive index modulation. The use of this technique allows for longer recording times that can lead to the use of expanded recording beams for large aperture gratings.

Electric-field-driven nano-oxidation trimming of silicon microrings and interferometers.

Nanoscale disorder results in severe spectral misalignment of silicon microring resonators and Mach-Zehnder interferometers. We correct for such effects using electric-field-induced waveguide nano-oxidation, demonstrating a tuning wavelength range of several nanometers and 0.002 nm resolution without line shape degradation. Field-induced nano-oxidation is a permanent and precise technique and requires no new materials or high-temperature processing.

Quantitative infrared imaging of silicon-on-insulator microring resonators.

There is considerable research activity in multiresonator optical circuits in silicon photonics, e.g., for higher-order filters, advanced modulation format coding/decoding, or coupled-resonator optical waveguide delay lines. In diagnostics of such structures, it is usually not possible to measure each individual microring resonator without adding separate input and output waveguides to each resonator. We demonstrate a non-invasive diagnostic method of quantitative IR imaging, applied here to a series cascade of rings. The IR images contain information on the otherwise inaccessible individual through ports and the resonators themselves, providing an efficient means to obtain coupling, loss, and intensity-enhancement parameters for the individual rings.