We generated 1 mW of average output power at 2.8 THz (bandwidth of approximately 300 GHz) in a diffraction-limited beam by placing a 6-mm-long quasi-phase-matched GaAs crystal inside the cavity of a synchronously pumped optical parametric oscillator (OPO). The OPO used type-II-phase-matched periodically poled lithium niobate as a gain medium and was pumped by a mode-locked laser at 1064 nm, with a 7 ps pulse duration, 50 MHz repetition rate, and 10 W average output power. The terahertz radiation was generated by difference frequency mixing between the signal and idler waves of the near-degenerate doubly resonant OPO.
We describe an enhanced rotation sensor involving an active helium-neon (HeNe) ring laser coupled to a passive enhancement resonator, which has been named a fast-light-enhanced HeNe ring-laser gyroscope (RLG). Theoretical rotation sensitivity enhancements as large as two orders of magnitude are presented. The physical effect responsible for the increased rotational sensitivity is the anomalous dispersion of the enhancement resonator, which produces a larger beat frequency as compared to a standard HeNe ring-laser gyroscope (RLG) as the laser cavity is rotated. We present the layout of the fast-light enhanced HeNe RLG, and we provide the theoretical modeling of the enhanced rotational sensitivity. A design is presented for the red HeNe (632.8 nm). The beat frequency is calculated with respect to rotation rate, which defines the useful range of operation for this highly sensitive RLG. Considerations for practical issues including laser-mirror reflectivity precision, unsaturated laser gain, and cavity-length stability are discussed.
Zincblende semiconductors (GaAs, GaP) show great potential for quasi-phase-matched (QPM) THz generation because of their small (20 times less than in lithium niobate) absorption coefficient at terahertz frequencies, small mismatch between the optical group and THz phase velocities, high thermal conductivity, and decent electro-optical coefficient. Terahertz-wave generation was demonstrated recently in QPM GaAs, using optical rectification of femtosecond pulses.Here we report on a new efficient widely tunable (0.5-3.5 THz) source of THz radiation based on quasi-phase-matched GaAs crystal. The source is based on difference frequency generation inside the cavity of a synchronously pumped neardegenerate picosecond OPO and takes advantage of resonantly enhanced both the signal and the idler waves. THz average power as high as 1 mW was achieved in a compact setup.
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