Arbitrary pulse shaping in a mid-infrared optical parametric oscillator source

We present a coherent mid-infrared (mid-IR) light source based on a periodically poled lithium niobate optical parametric oscillator (OPO) that is capable of producing arbitrary pulse shapes in the nanosecond regime. By controlling the shape of the 1064-nm wavelength pump, we compensate for the cavity dynamics that enable temporal pulse shaping of the mid-IR output for a signal wavelength of 1.9 µm (with a corresponding idler wavelength of 2.4 µm). Examples of complex pulse profiles demonstrate the versatility in temporal shaping of the OPO output. This low-energy mid-IR source, delivering pulses of around 1 mJ, is ideally suited to provide temporally optimized seed radiation for further high-energy amplification.