Performance Studies of High-Power Optical Parametric Oscillators Pumped by a Pulsed Fiber Laser

In June of 2023 researchers from the National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures and Starshining (Nanjing) Technology Company Limited, China published in Applied Sciences an article where they describe a new High-Power Optical Parametric Oscillators Pumped by a Pulsed Fiber Laser for which they use a VIGO detector for its characterization.

High-power optical parametric oscillators (OPOs) have been widely established as reliable sources of radiation in the mid-infrared (MIR) region. However, as the wavelength increases, particularly above 3700 nm, they experience a gradual degeneration or decline in performance. The authors used specific nonlinear crystal to build a high-power signal-resonant optical parametric oscillator (OPO) pumped by ytterbium-doped fiber laser (YDFL). Scientists focused on enhancing the OPO's output power at approximately 3.8 μm by carefully adjusting specific parameters, including the diameter and location of the pump beam, the curvature radius of the output coupler, etc. It is thanks to VIGO detectors that it is possible to perform characterization beams.

PCI-4TE-12-1x1 was used in the early stages of the project as well as when measuring the final device. At the beginning of the work, a detector was used for measuring the temporal profile and long-term power stability of the pump beam (repetition rate of 200 kHz and the power of ~81 W). When researchers built the OPO with the highest output power and conversion efficiency, they used PCI-4TE-12-1x1 VIGO detector for measurements of the waveform of the idler beam. 

We are pleased that VIGO detectors support the development of the studies of high-power optical parametric oscillators which are valuable tools in photonics and laser technology, making them suitable for various high-power applications.

Link to the article