Multimilliwatt ultrashort pulses continuously tunable in the visible from a compact fiber source

We report on a single-pass device that efficiently converts the broadband near-infrared output from a femtosecond fiber laser into a narrow spectrum in the visible. With fan-out poled MgO: LiNbO3 we obtain subpicosecond, continuously tunable pulses in the 520-700 nm range. Conversion efficiencies as high as 30% are observed at typical pump power levels of 30 mW, corresponding to average output powers up to 9.5 mW. The specifications of our device are ideal for applications in confocal microscopy and frequency metrology. (c) 2006 Optical Society of America.