High-repetition-rate femtosecond mid-infrared pulse generation

Ultrashort mid-infrared pulses at a repetition rate of 82 MHz have been generated by difference-frequency mixing at the output of a single-cavity, two-color femtosecond Ti:sapphire laser. The center wavelengths of the midinfrared pulses are tunable from 7.5 to 12.5 microm. Their pulse durations range from 450 to 650 fs, as a function of the center wavelength.