Breakthroughs in Photonics 2012: Breakthroughs in Optical Parametric Oscillators

Abstract

The latest breakthroughs in optical parametric oscillators (OPOs) for the generation of tunable coherent radiation from the continuous-wave to femtosecond timescales are presented. Advancement of novel device concepts, development of phasecoherent and broadband frequency combs, and expansion of wavelength coverage of OPOs to new limits toward the visible and mid-IR are the main focus of the review.

Controlled switching of orbital angular momentum in an optical parametric oscillator

“…OPOs are recognized as versatile sources of coherent radiation providing high power and broad wavelength coverage from a single device, in all time-scales from continuous-wave (cw) to the femtosecond domain [19][20][21]. Therefore, direct generation and control of OAM modes in an OPO can offer an intriguing route to provide high-power OAM beams at arbitrary wavelengths.…”

Pulse compression effects of passive mode locker in ultrafast optical parametric oscillator

“…Optical parametric oscillators (OPOs) have been extensively investigated for over four decades, expanding the wavelength range of lasers to new spectral coverage [7,8]. Synchronously-pumped optical parametric oscillators (SPOPOs) are established as reliable light sources with stable tunable ultrashort pulses suitable for many applications across the optical spectrum from ultraviolet to the mid-infrared [9,10].…”

Photonic E-field sensor

“…Optical transparency and nonlinearity of the material also helped to realize high quality monolithic electrooptical microresonators involved in a number of other high performance devices including tunable and multi-pole filters, 11,12 opto-electronic microwave oscillators, 13 and parametric frequency converters. [14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24] Phase matching is required to sustain coupling between optical and microwave fields in a WGM resonator. The phase matching can be achieved if the geometry of the interaction region is optimized.…”