Patent · US Expired

Frequency conversion system

US6304585A · kind A · utility

22Cited by
9References
8Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateDec 11, 2000
Grant dateOct 16, 2001
Priority date
Expiry dateDec 11, 2020

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG02F1/3558
  • WIPO fieldOptics
  • WIPO sectorInstruments

Abstract

Laser diode pumped mid-IR wavelength sources include at least one high power, near-IR wavelength, injection and/or sources wherein one or both of such sources may be tunable providing a pump wave output beam to a quasi-phase matched (QPM) nonlinear frequency mixing (NFM) device. The NFM device may be a difference frequency mixing (DFM) device or an optical parametric oscillation (OPO) device. Wavelength tuning of at least one of the sources advantageously provides the ability for optimizing pump or injection wavelengths to match the QPM properties of the NFM device enabling a broad range of mid-IR wavelength selectivity. Also, pump powers are gain enhanced by the addition of a rare earth amplifier or oscillator, or a Raman/Brillouin amplifier or oscillator between the high power source and the NFM device. Further, polarization conversion using Raman or Brillouin wavelength shifting is provided to optimize frequency conversion efficiency in the NFM device.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.