Infrared radiation generated by quasi-phase-matched difference-frequency mixing in a periodically poled lithium niobate waveguide

Abstract

We report quasi-phase-matched difference-frequency generation of 2.1 μm radiation at room temperature using the d33 nonlinear coefficient in a periodically poled lithium niobate channel waveguide. A tunable Ti:Al2O3 laser (λ≊0.8 μm) and a Nd:YAG laser (λ=1.32 μm) were the pump and signal sources, respectively. With 160 mW of 0.81 μm and 1 mW of 1.32 μm radiation coupled into the waveguide, 1.8 μW of 2.1 μm radiation was generated, tunable over a 6 nm bandwidth. We also show that the annealed proton exchange process can change the shape of ferroelectric domains in lithium niobate.