TUNABLE NO-TRACKING OPO-OPA TANDEM IN THE NEAR-INFRARED PUMPED BY A TI-SAPPHIRE LASER

We report the performance of a type-II KTP optical parametric oscillat or-amplifier tandem pumped in a noncritical phase-matching configurati on by a flashlamp-pumped Ti:Sapphire laser, scanned from 730 to 900 nm . Tunable signal and idler wavelengths are generated from 1.065 to 1.2 90 mu m and from 2.320 to 2.970 mu m, respectively, without crystal tr acking. Slope efficiency is as high as 32% for the signal conversion o nly. A KNbO3 crystal has also been tested as a parametric amplifier in a no-tracking configuration and yields comparable gain.