Parametric Amplification in Spatially Extended Media and Application to the Design of Tuneable Oscillators at Optical Frequencies

A theory of traveling wave and backward wave variable-parameter amplification appropriate to the amplification of a light beam is developed. It is an extension of the theory of Tien and Suhl for one-dimensional propagation to the case in which the pump wave, signal wave, and idler waves have different directions of propagation. The theory is then applied to the design of a tuneable oscillator at optical wavelengths. The device is tuned by changing the orientation of a parallel mirror system. It appears that currently available pulsed laser powers are sufficient to drive such devices and that a continuous tuning range over a three-to-one interval in frequency is possible.