Optimal design of aperiodically poled lithium niobate crystals for multiple wavelengths parametric amplification

We propose a new approach to design aperiodically poled lithium niobate (APLN) crystals for multiple wavelengths parametric amplification. The design principle of this kind of APLN, which belongs to solving an inverse source problem in nonlinear optics, is described in detail. The simulated annealing method is adopted for solving this problem. Numerical simulations show that the constructed APLN can implement multiple wavelengths parametric amplification well. It is expected that this new method may provide an effective and useful way for constructing nonlinear optical crystals used in parametric amplification. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.