Abstract

We demonstrated a stable degenerate synchronously pumped femtosecond optical parametric oscillator (SPOPO) as a divide-by-2 subharmonic generator. The SPOPO exhibited passive all-optical self-phase-locking between the pump and signal/idler and thus required no external electronic feedback to produce the phase-locked subharmonic. We employed a type I phase-matched, $1\text{-}\mathrm{mm}$-long, periodically poled $\mathrm{Mg}\mathrm{O}:\mathrm{Li}\mathrm{Nb}{\mathrm{O}}_3$ crystal as the nonlinear gain element and an $80\mathrm{MHz}$ mode-locked Ti:sapphire laser with $180\mathrm{fs}$ pulses tuned at $775\mathrm{nm}$ as the pump. The SPOPO generated transform-limited $70\mathrm{fs}$ phase-locked output pulses centered at $1550\mathrm{nm}$. The self-phase-locking operation was confirmed by separate beat-note measurement techniques with respect to the pump laser and with respect to an external cw laser.

© 2008 Optical Society of America

Self-phase-locked divide-by-2 optical parametric oscillator as a broadband frequency comb source

Samuel T. Wong, Konstantin L. Vodopyanov, and Robert L. Byer
J. Opt. Soc. Am. B 27(5) 876-882 (2010)

Degenerate 1 GHz repetition rate femtosecond optical parametric oscillator

Markku Vainio, Mikko Merimaa, Lauri Halonen, and Konstantin Vodopyanov
Opt. Lett. 37(21) 4561-4563 (2012)

Observation of two distinct phase states in a self-phase-locked type II phase-matched optical parametric oscillator

E. J. Mason and N. C. Wong
Opt. Lett. 23(22) 1733-1735 (1998)

Carrier-phase control among subharmonic pulses in a femtosecond optical parametric oscillator

Yohei Kobayashi and Kenji Torizuka
Opt. Lett. 26(16) 1295-1297 (2001)

Efficient, high-repetition-rate, femtosecond optical parametric oscillator tunable in the red

A. Esteban-Martin, O. Kokabee, and M. Ebrahim-Zadeh
Opt. Lett. 33(22) 2650-2652 (2008)