Heidelberg 2015 – scientific programme

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Q: Fachverband Quantenoptik und Photonik

Q 30: Laser Development: Solid State and Semiconductor Lasers

Q 30.1: Talk

Tuesday, March 24, 2015, 14:30–14:45, K/HS2

An all-solid-state, high power, tunable cw laser system for quantum optics applications — •Simon Mieth and Thomas Halfmann — Institut für Angewandte Physik, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Hochschulstraße 6, 64289 Darmstadt, Germany

We present a compact, tunable all-solid-state laser system based on an optical parametric oscillator (OPO), pumped by a fiber laser, extended by intra-cavity sum frequency generation (SFG) and frequency stabilization, to provide intense radiation in the visible spectral regime [1]. We apply the system for coherent, optical data storage in rare-earth doped solids, driven at a wavelength of 606 nm - which otherwise is only accessible by dye lasers or larger setups involving frequency mixing of two phase-locked lasers. The setup is based on a commercially available cw OPO system for mid-infrared output. The SFG and OPO processes are driven on a single periodically-poled lithium niobate crystal. Variation of the poling periods on the crystal allows for coarse wavelength tuning in a range between 605 and 616 nm. Pump wavelength tuning achieves a single-longitudinal mode tuning range of around 20 GHz. The robust, combined SFG-OPO approach is also applicable to other wavelength regimes. The system provides more than 1W output power over the full spectral range. A Pound-Drever-Hall frequency stabilization reduces the laser linewidth to the regime of 100 kHz (FWHM).

[1] S. Mieth, A. Henderson, and T. Halfmann, *Tunable, continuous-wave optical parametric oscillator with more than 1W output power in the orange visible spectrum*, Opt. Expr. 22, 11182 (2014)