Resonantly pumped optical pumping injection cavity lasers

Abstract

An optical parametric oscillator is tuned to the resonance wavelength of the etalon in an optical pumping injection cavity (OPIC) laser with a type-II "W" active region, thereby minimizing the threshold pump intensity and maximizing the output slope efficiency. Previous OPIC experiments employed fixed-wavelength sources with only limited tuning available by adjusting the incident angle. Low threshold pump intensities of 330 W/cm(2) at 100 K and 14 kW/cm(2) at 300 K (where the output wavelength is 3200 nm) were achieved. The energy conversion efficiency is found to decrease by over a factor of 100 when the pump wavelength is tuned from the resonance condition (1822 nm at 300 K) to only slightly off resonance (e.g., 1808 nm). (C) 2004 American Institute of Physics.