INTRA-CAVITY SUM-FREQUENCY MIXING USING SOLID-STATE AND SEMICONDUCTOR GAIN-MEDIA

摘要

A two-resonator laser arrangement for provides visible-wavelength radiation by sum-frequency mixing two different wavelengths of radiation circulating in the resonators in an optically nonlinear crystal located in the resonators. One of the resonators (12A) includes a solid-state gain-medium (32) providing of one the two wavelengths and the other resonator (14A) includes a semiconductor gain-medium (30) providing the other of the two wavelengths. A very short excited-state lifetime of the semiconductor gain-medium (30) provides that noise and instability commonly encountered in the output of prior-art intra-resonator frequency-converted lasers is substantially reduced. Sum-frequency mixing is achieved in a non-linear crystal (34), branching of the resonator is realized by a polarizer (22) and the two laser media are diode laser pumped. A Q-switch (40) may be comprised by one resonator (12A).