THE TANDEM OPTICAL PARAMETRIC OSCILLATOR

We report the theoretical analysis of a tandem optical parametric osci llator (TOPO) in which the principal OPO generates a signal which pump s a secondary OPO, The signal produced by the principal OPO is resonat ed in a high-Q cavity containing both nonlinear crystals, This cavity also has low Q for the signal of the secondary OPO, The two OPO's are singly resonant, since neither idler is resonated, We show that the us eful output, consisting of the two idlers and the signal of the second ary OPO, can be produced with high efficiency over a large dynamic ran ge in the pump intensity. As an example, we discuss modeling in three space dimensions of a Nd:YAG pumped monolithic TOPO based on periodica lly poled LiNbO3. This TOPO could generate three infrared wavelengths in high-transmission bands of atmospheric water vapor.