Abstract

The infrared remains a relatively sparse region of strong coherent radiation sources. A convenient and powerful source of mid-infrared radiation is the CO₂ laser and as a result much effort has gone into frequency conversion of CO₂ lasers by nonlinear materials. The ternary chalcogenide salt Thallium Arsenic Selenide (TAS) has many properties that are useful for CO₂ harmonic generation. It is a member of the space group R3m, possesses a large nonlinear coefficient (d_eff = 40×l0⁻¹² m/V), has a fairly high damage threshold (1.7 J/cm²) and is transparent over a wide wavelength range (1.3–1.7 µm).

© 1987 Optical Society of America