Efficient 17 μm light source based on KTA-OPO derived by Nd:YVO_4 self-Raman laser

Abstract

An intra-cavity optical parametric oscillator (OPO) emitting at 1.7 μm derived by Nd:YVO₄ self-Raman laser is demonstrated in this Letter, with a KTiOAsO₄ (KTA) crystal used as nonlinear optical crystal. A laser diode end-pumped acousto-optic Q-switched Nd:YVO₄ self-Raman laser at 1176 nm was employed as the pump source. At an incident pump power of 12.1 W and a pulse repetition frequency of 60 kHz, average output power up to 1.2 W signal light at 1742 nm was obtained, with diode-to-signal conversion efficiency of 10%. The pulse width was about 11 ns and spectral line width was less than 0.5 nm for the signal light. The results show that compact intra-cavity KTA-OPO derived by Nd:YVO₄ self-Raman laser is an efficient method for 1.7 μm waveband laser generation, with potential applications in biological imaging, laser therapy, special materials processing, etc.