Düsseldorf 2007 – wissenschaftliches Programm

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Q: Fachverband Quantenoptik und Photonik

Q 30: Poster Nichtlineare optische Effekte und Lichtquellen

Q 30.3: Poster

Dienstag, 20. März 2007, 16:30–18:30, Poster C

Development of the mid-IR CW narrowband 5 - 15 µm tunable laser source for molecular spectroscopy — •Sergey Vasilyev, Alexander Nevsky, and Stephan Schiller — Institut fuer Experimentalphysik, Heinrich-Heine-Universitaet Duesseldorf

Specific features of molecular gases spectra in mid-IR (MIR) range attract a growing interest for a number of applications. Yet, many promising results have remained confined to laboratories for lack of suitable MIR laser sources. The objective of our research project is the development of a widely tunable narrowband MIR laser source, emitting from 5 to 15 µm. This source will be based on an optical parametric oscillator (OPO) using as nonlinear frequency converting medium a semiconductor crystal: Orientation-Patterned Gallium Arsenide (OP-GaAs). A tunable Thulium-doped fiber laser MOPA at 1.8-2 µm will be used as the OPO pump.

First-order quasi-phase-matched difference frequency generation (DFG) and second harmonic generation (SHG) in OP-GaAs crystal have been investigated on the preliminary stage of the research project. The OP-GaAs sample with 14 mm length and 27.6 µm grating period has been used in both experiments. Narrowband tunable lasers at 1.56 µm (1 W EDFA) and 3.6 µm (30 mW PPLN OPO) were mixed to obtain sub-µW DFG output at 2.76 µm. The same PPLN OPO source, but tuned to the 3.14 µm, was used for SHG experiment. Measured power levels and QPM bandwidths were found to be in agreement with theoretical estimates, indicating good uniformity of tested OP-GaAs crystal sample.