Chalcogenide optical parametric oscillator

TL;DR

This paper reports the first chalcogenide glass-based optical parametric oscillator, demonstrating efficient mid-infrared light generation with potential for telecommunications and mid-IR applications.

Contribution

It introduces a novel chalcogenide microwire-based OPO with high efficiency and dual-wavelength operation, expanding the use of chalcogenide materials in nonlinear optics.

Findings

Oscillator operates at >50 nm shift from pump wavelength

Peak power threshold of 21.6 dBm

Conversion efficiency exceeds 19%

Abstract

We demonstrate the first optical parametric oscillator (OPO) based on chalcogenide glass. The parametric gain medium is an As2Se3 chalcogenide microwire coated with a layer of polymer. The doubly-resonant OPO oscillates simultaneously at a Stokes and an anti Stokes wavelength shift of >50 nm from the pump wavelength that lies at {\lambda}P = 1552 nm. The oscillator has a peak power threshold of 21.6 dBm and a conversion efficiency of >19 %. This OPO experiment provides an additional application of the chalcogenide microwire technology; and considering the transparency of As2Se3 glass extending far in the mid-infrared (mid-IR) wavelengths, the device holds promise for realizing mid IR OPOs utilizing existing optical sources in the telecommunications wavelength region.