Abstract

We have achieved 150 mW of cw output at $4.3 \mu \mathrm{m}$, using difference frequency mixing in a singly resonant optical parametric oscillator (OPO). We pumped the OPO cavity, which contains periodically poled ${\mathrm{LiNbO}}_3$ (PPLN), with a 14-W $1.06‐\mu \mathrm{m}$ Nd:YAG laser to generate a signal at $1.7 \mu \mathrm{m}$ and an idler at $2.8 \mu \mathrm{m}$. Mixing of the two waves at the same crystal temperature and grating spacing yielded emission in the mid IR. This technique avoids the mid-IR absorption–high-threshold problem, which has limited the cw performance of PPLN OPO’s at wavelengths beyond $4 \mu \mathrm{m}$. Provided that tunability is not required, this method is a simple alternative to multiple-crystal configurations.

© 2001 Optical Society of America

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