Theoretical investigations of broadband mid-infrared optical parametric amplification based on a La_3Ga_55Nb_05O_14 crystal

(LGN), which exhibits a favorable set of optical properties for the application in a mid-IR OPA. We theoretically evaluate the performance of LGN as the nonlinear crystal of a mid-infrared OPA, with an emphasis on the bandwidth characteristic. We find that this crystal can support broadband amplifications across its entire mid-infrared transparent region up to 6 μm, outperforming other commonly-used mid-infrared crystals in terms of gain bandwidth. Few-cycle mid-infrared pulses at various wavelengths can be generated from the LGN-based optical parametric chirped-pulse amplifiers.