Parametric amplification in AgGaSe(2).

AgGaSe(2) has been grown, annealed, and characterized for the mid-IR. Characterization includes measurement of the average power-limiting factors including absorption and the variation of the refractive indices with temperature. Using specially annealed crystals 20 mm long and a Ho:YAG pump, parametric amplification at 3.39 microm has achieved a gain of 2.9 with a peak power input of only 8 MW/cm(2).