Optical parametric amplifier
Encyclopedia
An optical parametric amplifier, abbreviated OPA, is a laser
light source that emits light of variable wavelength
s by an optical parametric amplification process.
. The photon
of an incident laser pulse (pump) is, by a nonlinear optical crystal, divided into two photons, the sum energy of which is equivalent to the energy of the photon of the pump. The wavelengths of the two generated laser pulses, called the signal and the idler, are determined by the phase matching condition, which is changed e. g. by temperature or, in bulk optics, by the angle between the incident pump laser ray and the optical axes of the crystal. The wavelengths of the signal and the idler photons can, therefore, be tuned by changing the phase matching condition. This process is called optical parametric generation, or OPG.
. As an example of OPA, the incident pump pulse is the 800 nm (12500 cm-1) output of a Ti:sapphire laser
, and the two outputs, signal and idler, are in the near-infrared region, the sum of the wavenumber
of which is equal to 12500 cm-1.
) do not point in the same direction as the energy flow (Poynting vector
) because of walk-off.
The phase matching angle makes possible any gain at all (0th order). In a collinear setup, the freedom to choose the center wavelength allows a constant gain up to first order in wavelength. Noncollinear OPAs were developed to have an additional degree of freedom, allowing constant gain up to second order in wavelength. The optimal parameters are 4 degrees of noncollinearity, β-barium borate (BBO) as the material, a 400-nm pump wavelength, and signal around 800 nm. This generates a bandwidth 3 times as large of that of a Ti-sapphire
-amplifier. The first order is mathematically equivalent to some properties of the group velocities involved, but this does not mean that pump and signal have the same group velocity. After propagation through 1-mm BBO, a short pump pulse no longer overlaps with the signal. Therefore, chirped pulse amplification
must be used in situations requiring large gain amplification in long crystals. Long crystals introduce such a large chirp
that a compressor is needed anyways. An extreme chirp can lengthen a 20-fs seed pulse to 50 ps, making it suitable for use as the pump. Unchirped 50-ps pulses with high energy can be generated from rare earth-based lasers.
The optical parametric amplifier has a wider bandwidth than a Ti-sapphire
-amplifier, which in turn has a wider bandwidth than an optical parametric oscillator because of white-light generation even one octave wide. Therefore, a subband can be selected and fairly short pulses can still be generated.
The higher gain per mm for BBO compared to Ti:Sa and, more importantly, lower amplified spontaneous emission
allows for higher overall gain.
Interlacing compressors and OPA leads to tilted pulses.
Since the direction of the beams is fixed, multiple passes cannot be overlapped into a single small crystal like in a Ti:Sa amplifier. Unless one uses noncolinear geometry and adjusts amplified beams onto the parametric fluorescence cone produced by the pump pulse. Multipass bow type chirped pulse amplifier
The optical case uses the same basic principle--transferring energy from a wave at the pump frequency to waves at the signal and idler frequencies--so it took the same name.
Laser
A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of photons. The term "laser" originated as an acronym for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation...
light source that emits light of variable wavelength
Wavelength
In physics, the wavelength of a sinusoidal wave is the spatial period of the wave—the distance over which the wave's shape repeats.It is usually determined by considering the distance between consecutive corresponding points of the same phase, such as crests, troughs, or zero crossings, and is a...
s by an optical parametric amplification process.
Optical parametric generation (OPG)
This light emission is based on the nonlinear optical principleNonlinear optics
Nonlinear optics is the branch of optics that describes the behavior of light in nonlinear media, that is, media in which the dielectric polarization P responds nonlinearly to the electric field E of the light...
. The photon
Photon
In physics, a photon is an elementary particle, the quantum of the electromagnetic interaction and the basic unit of light and all other forms of electromagnetic radiation. It is also the force carrier for the electromagnetic force...
of an incident laser pulse (pump) is, by a nonlinear optical crystal, divided into two photons, the sum energy of which is equivalent to the energy of the photon of the pump. The wavelengths of the two generated laser pulses, called the signal and the idler, are determined by the phase matching condition, which is changed e. g. by temperature or, in bulk optics, by the angle between the incident pump laser ray and the optical axes of the crystal. The wavelengths of the signal and the idler photons can, therefore, be tuned by changing the phase matching condition. This process is called optical parametric generation, or OPG.
Optical parametric amplification (OPA)
After separation of the signal photons from the OPG outputs, the remaining idler photons pass through a nonlinear optical crystal collinearly with the photons of the same wavelength as the pump, and the stronger output of the same wavelength as the signal and idler is acquired as the output of the OPA. These wavelength-variable outputs are efficiently used in many spectroscopic methodsSpectroscopy
Spectroscopy is the study of the interaction between matter and radiated energy. Historically, spectroscopy originated through the study of visible light dispersed according to its wavelength, e.g., by a prism. Later the concept was expanded greatly to comprise any interaction with radiative...
. As an example of OPA, the incident pump pulse is the 800 nm (12500 cm-1) output of a Ti:sapphire laser
Ti-sapphire laser
Ti:sapphire lasers are tunable lasers which emit red and near-infrared light in the range from 650 to 1100 nanometers. These lasers are mainly used in scientific research because of their tunability and their ability to generate ultrashort pulses...
, and the two outputs, signal and idler, are in the near-infrared region, the sum of the wavenumber
Wavenumber
In the physical sciences, the wavenumber is a property of a wave, its spatial frequency, that is proportional to the reciprocal of the wavelength. It is also the magnitude of the wave vector...
of which is equal to 12500 cm-1.
Noncollinear OPA
Because most nonlinear crystals are birefringent, beams that are collinear inside a crystal may not be collinear outside of it. The phase fronts (wave vectorWave vector
In physics, a wave vector is a vector which helps describe a wave. Like any vector, it has a magnitude and direction, both of which are important: Its magnitude is either the wavenumber or angular wavenumber of the wave , and its direction is ordinarily the direction of wave propagation In...
) do not point in the same direction as the energy flow (Poynting vector
Poynting vector
In physics, the Poynting vector can be thought of as representing the directional energy flux density of an electromagnetic field. It is named after its inventor John Henry Poynting. Oliver Heaviside and Nikolay Umov independently co-invented the Poynting vector...
) because of walk-off.
The phase matching angle makes possible any gain at all (0th order). In a collinear setup, the freedom to choose the center wavelength allows a constant gain up to first order in wavelength. Noncollinear OPAs were developed to have an additional degree of freedom, allowing constant gain up to second order in wavelength. The optimal parameters are 4 degrees of noncollinearity, β-barium borate (BBO) as the material, a 400-nm pump wavelength, and signal around 800 nm. This generates a bandwidth 3 times as large of that of a Ti-sapphire
Ti-sapphire laser
Ti:sapphire lasers are tunable lasers which emit red and near-infrared light in the range from 650 to 1100 nanometers. These lasers are mainly used in scientific research because of their tunability and their ability to generate ultrashort pulses...
-amplifier. The first order is mathematically equivalent to some properties of the group velocities involved, but this does not mean that pump and signal have the same group velocity. After propagation through 1-mm BBO, a short pump pulse no longer overlaps with the signal. Therefore, chirped pulse amplification
Chirped pulse amplification
Chirped pulse amplification is a technique for amplifying an ultrashort laser pulse up to the petawatt level with the laser pulse being stretched out temporally and spectrally prior to amplification...
must be used in situations requiring large gain amplification in long crystals. Long crystals introduce such a large chirp
Chirp
A chirp is a signal in which the frequency increases or decreases with time. In some sources, the term chirp is used interchangeably with sweep signal. It is commonly used in sonar and radar, but has other applications, such as in spread spectrum communications...
that a compressor is needed anyways. An extreme chirp can lengthen a 20-fs seed pulse to 50 ps, making it suitable for use as the pump. Unchirped 50-ps pulses with high energy can be generated from rare earth-based lasers.
The optical parametric amplifier has a wider bandwidth than a Ti-sapphire
Ti-sapphire laser
Ti:sapphire lasers are tunable lasers which emit red and near-infrared light in the range from 650 to 1100 nanometers. These lasers are mainly used in scientific research because of their tunability and their ability to generate ultrashort pulses...
-amplifier, which in turn has a wider bandwidth than an optical parametric oscillator because of white-light generation even one octave wide. Therefore, a subband can be selected and fairly short pulses can still be generated.
The higher gain per mm for BBO compared to Ti:Sa and, more importantly, lower amplified spontaneous emission
Amplified spontaneous emission
Amplified spontaneous emission or superluminescence is light, produced by spontaneous emission, that has been optically amplified by the process of stimulated emission in a gain medium. It is inherent in the field of random lasers....
allows for higher overall gain.
Interlacing compressors and OPA leads to tilted pulses.
Multipass OPA
Multipass can be used for- walk off and group velocityGroup velocityThe group velocity of a wave is the velocity with which the overall shape of the wave's amplitudes — known as the modulation or envelope of the wave — propagates through space....
(dispersionDispersion (optics)In optics, dispersion is the phenomenon in which the phase velocity of a wave depends on its frequency, or alternatively when the group velocity depends on the frequency.Media having such a property are termed dispersive media...
) compensation - constant intensity with increasing signal power means to have an exponential rising cross section. This can be done by means of lenses, which also refocus the beams to have the beam waist in the crystal.
- reduction of OPG by increasing the pump power proportional to the signal and splitting the pump across the passes of the signal
- broadband amplification by dumping the idler and optionally individually detuning the crystals
- complete pump depletion by offseting the pump and signal in time and space at every pass and feeding one pump pulse through all passes
- high gain with BBO. Since BBO is only availalable in small dimensions.
Since the direction of the beams is fixed, multiple passes cannot be overlapped into a single small crystal like in a Ti:Sa amplifier. Unless one uses noncolinear geometry and adjusts amplified beams onto the parametric fluorescence cone produced by the pump pulse. Multipass bow type chirped pulse amplifier
Relationship to parametric amplifiers in electronics
The idea of parametric amplification first arose at much lower frequencies: AC circuits, including radio frequency and microwave frequency (in the earliest investigations, sound waves were also studied). In these applications, typically a strong pump signal (or "local oscillator") at frequency f passes through a circuit element whose parameters are modulated by the weak "signal" wave at frequency fs (for example, the signal might modulate the capacitance of a varactor diode). The result is that some of the energy of the local oscillator gets transferred to the signal frequency fs, as well as the difference ("idler") frequency f-fs. The term parametric amplifier is used because the parameters of the circuit are varied.The optical case uses the same basic principle--transferring energy from a wave at the pump frequency to waves at the signal and idler frequencies--so it took the same name.