Experimental and analytical studies on the tuning characteristics of continuous-wave, doubly resonant optical parametric oscillators, continuously operating from 0.8 to 1.6 mu m

This paper reports theoretical and experimental studies of the tuning chara cteristics of continuous-wave, doubly resonant optical parametric oscillato rs (CW OPOs) using temperature-tuned nonlinear crystals of MgO:LiNbO3 and L iB3O5 Broadband tuning between 0.8 and 1.6 mu m with a narrow spectral line width that is about 4 times broader than those ever reported in CW OPOs ope rating around 1 mu m has been successfully demonstrated with a single set o f extremely broadband high-reflection cavity mirrors. Bands in the OPO spec trum dropped out at locations coincident with small fluctuations in the ref lectivity characteristics of the broadband mirrors, due to optical interact ion between stacks of the coating layers. We also demonstrate that the tuni ng characteristics strongly reflect the cluster-mode characteristic and par ametric gain bandwidth of the non-linear crystals. (C) 1999 Scripta Technic a.