Hannover 2010 – wissenschaftliches Programm

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Q: Fachverband Quantenoptik und Photonik

Q 13: Ultrashort Laser Pulses: Generation II

Q 13.10: Vortrag

Montag, 8. März 2010, 18:45–19:00, F 342

100 kHz infrared pulse generation up to 5300 nm with novel optical parametric amplifiers — •Maximilian Bradler, Christian Homann, and Eberhard Riedle — Lehrstuhl für BioMolekulare Optik, LMU München

Few-cycle pulses in the Mid-Infrared are interesting for many applications such as time-resolved vibrational spectroscopy or high-field science. The most common approach to produce tunable MIR pulses is difference frequency mixing, e.g., of the NIR signal and idler of an optical parametric amplifier (OPA). However, this requires a compromise between the achievable bandwidth and corresponding pulse length below 100 fs and the overall conversion efficiency, which is typically in the 1 % range. Especially for 100 kHz systems with their limited pulse energy infrared pulse generation asks for new principles to access wavelengths above 3 mum.

Here we present a hybrid approach that yields ultrashort CEP stable MIR pulses up to 5 µm directly as the output of an OPA. We first preamplify selected parts of a supercontinuum generated in YAG in BBO. As pump we use the second harmonic of the laser source. In a second stage we further amplify these pulses in LiNbO₃ pumped by the remaining light after SHG. This directly renders idler pulses in the desired wavelength range from 2 to 5 µm. This concept was enhanced by chirp and energy management for the output of the first amplification stage to significantly increase the infrared output.