Abstract

There is a large discrepancy in currently accepted absolute values of nonlinear optical coefficient.^[1] The discrepancy indicates that careful and accurate measurements using well-characterized lasers are needed. Recently, Eckardt at al. performed measurements of absolute magnitudes of the phase-matchable nonlinear coefficients of several crystals using a pulsed Nd:YAG laser.^[2] In this paper, we report the first absolute measurement of a non-phase-matchable nonlinear coefficient d₃₃ of lithium niobate (LiNbO₃) using a high-quality semiconductor laser diode as a fundamental light source. d₃₃, the largest coefficient of LiNbO₃, is an important parameter which determines performance of waveguiding frequency conversion devices.

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