Optimally-output-coupled, 17.5 W, fiber-laser-pumped continuous-wave optical parametric oscillator

Abstract

We present a stable, high-power, fiber-laser-pumped, continuous-wave (cw), singly resonant optical parametric oscillator (SRO) for the mid-infrared in an output-coupled (OC) configuration, providing 17.5 W of total output power at 61% extraction efficiency. Using a single-frequency, cw Yb fiber laser at 1064 nm and a 50-mm-long MgO:PPLN crystal, through optimization of signal output coupling we generate up to 9.8 W of signal power in the near-infrared together with 7.7 W of idler power for 28.6 W of pump, while in the absence of output coupling, 8.6 W of idler power is generated for the same pump power at 30% efficiency. The SRO is tunable over 360 nm in the idler range. The deployment of signal output coupling results in a total tuning of 513 nm (120 nm of signal, 393 nm of idler) over which watt-level output power can be extracted. Through careful control of thermal effects we achieve a long-term peak-to-peak idler power stability of 5% over 14 hours near room temperature. The output beams have TEM₀₀ spatial profile with M ²<1.28 for the idler and M ²<1.37 for the signal.