Ultrabroadband continuum amplification in the near infrared using BiB3O6 nonlinear crystals pumped at 800 nm.

Ultrabroadband parametric amplification of a white-light continuum in the near IR (approximately 100 THz, 1.2-2.4 microm) is demonstrated in BiB3O6 pumped by 45 fs long pulses at 800 nm at a repetition rate of 1 kHz.

High-power fifth-harmonic generation of femtosecond pulses in the vacuum ultraviolet using a Ti:sapphire laser.

We demonstrate the generation of fifth-harmonic pulses at 161 nm, with an energy of up to 600 nJ and 160 fs pulse duration from a Ti:sapphire laser at 1 kHz repetition rate by four-wave difference-frequency mixing in argon-filled waveguides. The efficiency is greatly improved by coupling to higher-order transverse modes, as well as by coating the inner surface of the waveguide. A numerical model of the process yields an understanding of the main effects influencing the harmonic generation.

High-power Femtosecond Optical Parametric Amplification at 1 kHz in BiB(3)O(6) pumped at 800 nm.

Substantial power scaling of a travelling-wave femtosecond optical parametric amplifier, pumped near 800 nm by a 1 kHz Ti:sapphire laser amplifier, is demonstrated using monoclinic BiB(3)O(6) in a two stage scheme with continuum seeding. Total energy output (signal plus idler) exceeding 1 mJ is achieved, corresponding to an intrinsic conversion efficiency of approximately 32% for the second stage. The tunability extends from 1.

300 microJ noncollinear optical parametric amplifier in the visible at 1 kHz repetition rate.

We demonstrate an order-of-magnitude energy scaling of a white-light seeded noncollinear optical parametric amplifier in the visible. The generated pulses, tunable between 520 and 650 nm with sub-25-fs duration, had energies up to 310 microJ with 20% blue-pump-to-signal energy conversion efficiency at 540 nm. This new ultrafast source will make possible numerous extreme nonlinear optics applications.

Efficient 1 kHz femtosecond optical parametric amplification in BiB(3)O(6) pumped at 800 nm.

We demonstrate efficient operation of a tunable femtosecond optical parametric amplifier based on BiB(3)O(6) pumped at 800 nm by a 1 kHz Ti:sapphire regenerative amplifier. The idler wavelength coverage extends to beyond 3 mum and the pulse duration at this wavelength is of the order of 110 fs. This new nonlinear borate crystal offers exceptionally high nonlinearity, making it a very promising candidate for power scaling of such frequency converters in the near-IR.

Effective second-order nonlinearity in acentric optical crystals with low symmetry.

We derive explicit expressions in the frame of the optical indicatrix for the second-order effective nonlinearity in biaxial crystals with point groups 2, m, and 1, governing the conversion efficiency in three-wave nonlinear optical interactions. The tabulated expressions for the monoclinic symmetry classes 2 and m are valid for all possible orientations of the optical indicatrix relative to the crystallographic frame and for propagation along an arbitrary direction outside the principal planes. They can be used for direct estimation of the effective nonlinearity in the same frame where the phase-matching loci are calculated.