Arbitrary pulse shaping in a mid-infrared optical parametric oscillator source

We present a coherent mid-infrared (mid-IR) light source based on a periodically poled lithium niobate optical parametric oscillator (OPO) that is capable of producing arbitrary pulse shapes in the nanosecond regime. By controlling the shape of the 1064-nm wavelength pump, we compensate for the cavity dynamics that enable temporal pulse shaping of the mid-IR output for a signal wavelength of 1.9 mu m (with a corresponding idler wavelength of 2.4 mu m). Examples of complex pulse profiles demonstrate the versatility in temporal shaping of the OPO output. This low-energy mid-IR source, delivering pulses of around 1 mJ, is ideally suited to provide temporally optimized seed radiation for further high-energy amplification. Published by Optica Publishing Group under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article’s title, journal citation, and DOI.