High-power, fiber-laser-pumped, picosecond optical parametric oscillator based on MgO:sPPLT

We report a stable, high-power, mid-infrared synchronously-pumped optical parametric oscillator (SPOPO) based on MgO:sPPLT, pumped by a 1064 nm, picosecond Yb-fiber laser operating at a repetition rate of 81.1 MHz. The singly resonant SPOPO is tunable over 1531-1642 nm (111 nm) in the near-infrared signal and 3022-3488 nm (466 nm) in the mid-infrared idler, providing a total tuning range of 577 nm. Careful optimization of output coupling results in a signal output power as high as 4.3 W at 1593 nm and a mid-infrared idler power of 2 W at 3204 nm for 13.4 W of pump power at a total extraction efficiency of 47%. The SPOPO can be operated near room temperature, down to 30 °C, and exhibits passive peak-to-peak power stability better than 8.6% at 1568 nm (signal) and 8.2% at 3310 nm (idler) over 13 hours at full power. The output signal pulses have duration of 17.5 ps, with a FWHM spectral bandwidth of 1.4 nm centered at 1568 nm.