Simulation and pumping of an OPO using a polarized high power multimode CW @1064nm laser

The purpose of this doctoral project is the study and mounting of a continuously tunable wavelength laser system generating beams in the near and to middle infrared (IR) spectral region. This work was divided into 3 parts: (i) fundamental mode, polarized Nd:YAG @1064nm laser, (ii) its use in a resonant OPO cavity and (iii) ring cavity laser simulations. A continuous Nd:YAG @1064nm laser was mounted and developed, based on an already tested setup, with the added feature of a polarized beam at the exit. Compared with the non-polarized laser source, it presented high output power, with maximum value of 30W, and an improvement of the beam quality factor such that M2<1,3, close to the ideal value of 1. The application of this polarized Nd:YAG laser as a pump source for a linear Optical Parametric Oscillator (OPO) was successful, generating tunable Signal and Idler beams (λS, λC) inside the active media (5%MgO:LiNbO₃; doped periodically-poled Lithium Niobate crystal, or PPLN). For the idler beam, a maximum power of 1,1W was measured, and 3 slope efficiency values were obtained of 20,8% (TC=100°C) and 23,4% (TC=150°C) for the pulsed pump source, and the value of 11,1% (TC=150°C) for the CW pump source. The knife-edge technique applied in the idler beam (TC=150°C, crystal periodic grating Λ0=31,59m, λC=2470nm) resulted in a beam quality factor of M2=5,75(165). Numerical simulations were performed, aiming at the study and planning of 2 symmetrical ring-cavities to generate continuous tunable beams at their exits. The first cavity contains a PPLN crystal as active media, where Parametric Oscillation occurs generating two beams in the mid IR spectral region. The second cavity contains two crystals inside it, a PPLN for the OPO and a Lithium Triborate (LiB₃O₅ known as LBO) for Second Harmonic Generation (SHG), with the beam of interest being in the near IR spectral region. The polarized Nd:YAG @1064nm laser shows a simple setup and uses low cost components, reducing the final laser system price, compared with other tunable laser systems. The next steps involve research and development of a single frequency laser pump source, to generate single frequency beams in the projected OPO ring cavities for future applications in spectroscopy. (author)