LONG-PULSE, AMPLITUDE-MODULATED OPTICAL PARAMETRIC OSCILLATOR

A singly resonant optical parametric oscillator (OPO) based on periodi cally poled LiNbO3 is pumped by a Nd:YAG-based oscillator-modulator-am plifier source. This pump source, operating at 1.064 mu m, provides th e ability to control the temporal characteristics of the OPO waveform. We illustrate pulse tailoring by demonstrating three pulse formats: a pulse with a sharply rising edge, a square pulse, and an amplitude-mo dulated square pulse. The OPO output is tuned over 1.45-1.67-mu m (sig nal) and 2.9-4.0-mu m(idler). We demonstrate a 7-mu J,2-mu s square pu lse with 5-MHz sinusoidal amplitude modulation.