Parametric oscillators

(the set travelling in the opposite direction will make a similar contribution). The electric field may then be wriften in the form

313

t(z,t)

: to I

N12

exp[-i(cr.,e

ta)(t

t--Nl2

zlc^)]
(

t6 exp[-i@s(t
where 89 is a constant, and F(.r ) :

z/c^)]F(.t

- zlc^),

12.50)

sin( 1Nu,,,r

SlIl{;tor

(r
I

2.51)

N : 100, a resonator length of l0cm. and a refractive index of 2, we get a pulsewidth of 27 ps and a repetition fiequency of 750 MHz. The situation is, of course, a lot more compiicated in a practical laser. but the above figures give good guidance. The shortest pulses to date have been obtained in dye lasers with pulsewidths well belor.v I ps. How can we lock the modes'l The most popular method is to put a saturable absorber in the resonator which attenuates at lo*' fields but not at hieh fields. Why would a saturable absorber lock the rnodes? A roush answer rnay be produced by the follou'ins arsument: when the modes are randomly phased relative to each other. the sum of the ampliludes at any given moment is small, hence they will be adverselv atTected by the saturable absorber. However if they all add up in phase. their amplirude becomes large. and thev wiil nor be affected by the saturable absorber. Thus. the only mode of operation that has a chance of building up is the one q,here the modes are locked. consequently, that will be the only one to survive in the long run (where long means a few nanoseconds). This is another example of optical Darwinism.

Equation (12.50) represents a traveiling rvave. rvhose frequency is r,.r9, and its shape (envelope) is given by the function. F. If N >> 1, F is ofthe lorm ofa sharp pulse of r,r'idth 1;r I N a. and it is repe ated u, ith a fieque ncv of o. Taking

These are usually frvo-section devices, one section to provide

optical gain, and the other one to
act as a saturable absorber.

12.9

Parametric oscillators

In principle, this is the same thing as already explained in connection with varactor diodes in Section 9. I 3. The main differences are that in the present case (i) the non-linear capacitance is replaced by a non-linear optical medium, (ii) the
dimensions are now large in comparison with the wavelength; hence wave propagation effects need to be taken into account, and (iii) instead ofamplifiers, we are concerned here with oscillators (although optical parametric amplifiers also exist). What is the advantage of parametric oscillators? Why should we worry about three separate frequencies, r.l'hen we can easily build oscillators at single frequencies? The reason is that we can have funeable outputs.

A schematic diagram of the optical parametric oscillator is shorvn in Fig. 12.23. The parametric pump (not to be confused with the pump needed to make the laser work) is a laser oscillating at 03. There is also a resonator
which may resonate at ar1 and a-l2. If the waves at these frequencies satisly both the 03 : e)t * roz and the ft3 : kt * kz (k : propagation coefficient