30-fs, cavity-dumped optical parametric oscillator

We demonstrate cavity dumping of a synchronously pumped optical parametric oscillator (OPO). The OPO delivers 30-fs pulses with energies as high as 13 nJ at up to 400-kHz repetition rates. The OPO's tunability ranges from 570 to 600 nm and is limited by the resonator mirror coatings. The time jitter between pulses of a Ti:sapphire laser and the cavity-dumped OPO pulses is smaller than 30 fs, permitting multicolor time-resolved spectroscopic experiments.