Electro-optic comb pumped optical parametric oscillator with flexible repetition rate at GHz level

We present a gigahertz (GHz)-repetition-rate optical parametric oscillator (OPO) pumped by an electro-optic comb at 1.03 mu m, delivering sub-picosecond signal pulses across 1.5-1.7 mu m from a MgO-doped periodically poled LiNbO3 crystal. Using a pump power of 5 W at 14.2 GHz repetition rate, 378 mW of signal power is obtained at 1.52 mu m from a subharmonic cavity, corresponding to a signal extraction efficiency of 7.6%. By cascading a Mach-Zehnder modulator, the pump pulse repetition rate can be divided by any integer number from one to 14, allowing the OPO to operate with a flexible repetition rate from 1 to 14.2 GHz. A strategy leading to quasi-continuous repetition rate tunability of the OPO is also discussed. (C) 2021 Optical Society of America

Automated summary

A GHz-repetition-rate OPO pumped by an electro-optic comb at 1.03 μm was presented, delivering sub-picosecond signal pulses across 1.5-1.7 μm. An efficient signal extraction was achieved at 1.52 μm, with the flexibility of operating at various repetition rates through a Mach-Zehnder modulator cascading.