Active mode locking of continuous-wave doubly and singly resonant optical parametric oscillators

Area of Science:

• Nonlinear optics
• Laser physics

Background:

• Continuous-wave (cw) pumped optical parametric oscillators (OPOs) are crucial for generating tunable laser light.
• Achieving ultrashort pulse generation via active mode-locking in OPOs is an active area of research.

Purpose of the Study:

• To report the first experimental demonstration of active mode-locking in near-degenerate, doubly and singly resonant cw-pumped OPOs.
• To investigate the dynamics of pulse formation and buildup in these systems.

Main Methods:

• Utilized active mode-locking techniques applied to cw-pumped OPOs.
• Experimentally characterized the temporal dynamics of the OPO output.
• Analyzed the oscillation buildup and steady-state pulse formation.

Main Results:

• Successfully achieved active mode-locking in both doubly and singly resonant OPOs.
• Demonstrated the attainment of a steady-state short pulse regime within tens of microseconds.
• Observed novel transient behaviors during the oscillation buildup and mode-locking process.

Conclusions:

• Active mode-locking is a viable technique for generating short pulses from cw-pumped OPOs.
• The observed transient dynamics offer new insights into the fundamental processes governing OPO operation.
• This work paves the way for advanced applications requiring tunable, ultrashort optical pulses.