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We implemented a singly resonant optical parametric oscillator based on adhesive-free-bonded periodically inverted KTiOPO4 plates. It has major advantages such as walk-off compensation and oscillation at four wavelengths. The threshold of the oscillation was measured to be 8 MW/cm2, which is about a factor of 4 lower than that based in two separate KTiOPO4 crystals. By frequency-mixing the dual-wavelength output in GaP stacks, we generated the terahertz radiation at 2.54 THz. The tuning range of the terahertz output was demonstrated to be 2.19–2.77 THz.

Spatial walk-off can severely increase the threshold of critical phase-matched optical parametric oscillations (OPOs) and distort the output beam quality. With 16-layer KTP stacks for walk-off compensation, noncritical phase-match-like (NCPM-like) and quasi-phase-match-like OPOs with enhanced angular acceptance have been demonstrated based on two different KTP bonding orientations. In the NCPM-like composite, output pulse energy of 49 microJ has been achieved at pump energy of 523 microJ with pulse duration of 15 ns and repetition rate of 1 KHz. The OPO threshold as low as 254 microJ(44.6 MW/cm(2)) has been achieved.

Backward terahertz pulses were converted from ultrafast pulses of a laser amplifier within multiperiod periodically poled LiNbO3 (PPLN) wafers. The average output powers of more than 2 microW were obtained from all six domain periods, corresponding to the frequency range of 217 GHz-2.373 THz. Among the six periods, the highest output power of 10.7 microW and the narrowest linewidth of 5.98 GHz were achieved at the periods of 66.5 microm and 150.0 microm, respectively.

It has been demonstrated that the key to complete understanding of the mechanisms for terahertz (THz) generation from a p-type InAs wafer pumped by a subpicosecond Ti:sapphire amplifier lies in the dependences of the THz polarization on the azimuthal angle and polarization of the pump beam. At low enough pump intensities, photocurrent surge is the dominant mechanism for THz generation. However, the THz radiation originating from photocurrent surge is greatly reduced with increased pump intensity. Therefore, at sufficiently high pump intensities resonant optical rectification becomes the dominating mechanism for THz generation. The highest output power is measured to be 57 microW.

A new route for efficiently generating coherent blue light has been explored based on intracavity effective third-harmonic generation in one partly periodically poled KTiOPO4 crystal placed inside the cavity of a diode-pumped Nd:YAG laser. To achieve efficient conversion, we use a dual-temperature oven to separately control the phase-matching conditions for the two second-order nonlinear processes. In addition, a Fabry–Perot cavity at 660?nm is incorporated into the crystal to increase the blue power significantly. When the laser is Q switched to produce long pulses, an average power of 118?mW is generated at 440?nm at a pump power of 10?W.

A laser diode (LD) cladding pumped single-mode 1030 nm laser has been demonstrated, in an adhesive-free bonded 40 μm core Yb:YAG crystalline fiber waveguide (CFW). A laser output power of 13.2 W at a wavelength of 1.03 μm has been achieved, for an input pump power of 39.5 W. The corresponded laser efficiency is 33.4%. The laser beam quality is confirmed to be near diffraction-limited, with a measured M2 = 1.02. A LD core pumped single-clad Yb:YAG CFW laser has also been demonstrated with a top-hat laser beam profile, with a laser output power of 28 W and a slope efficiency of 78%.

Broadband and polarization-insensitive phase conjugation, achieved based on difference-frequency generation in a second-order nonlinear composite consisting of stacked KTiOPO(4) (KTP) plates, was exploited to restore blurred images due to phase distortion as a novel scheme. Due to the quasi-phase matching in the stacked KTP crystals, our result reveals that the image restoration is insensitive to the polarization direction and wavelength of the input beam.

We demonstrated the continuous-wave operation of a resonantly pumped Er:YAG single-mode channel waveguide laser with diffraction-limited output and nearly quantum defect limited efficiency. Using a longitudinally core-pumped, nearly square (61.2 μm×61.6 μm) Er3+:YAG waveguide embedded in an undoped YAG cladding, an output power of 9.1 W with a slope efficiency of 92.8% (versus absorbed pump power) has been obtained. To the best of our knowledge, this optical-to-optical efficiency is the highest ever demonstrated for a channel waveguide laser.

Highly efficient conversion from ultrafast optical pulses to their terahertz (THz) counterparts has been achieved with InN thin films. An average THz output power as high as 0.931 microW has been obtained for an average pump power of 1 W, corresponding to a normalized conversion efficiency of 190% mm(-2). Based on our measured dependences of the THz output power on pump polarization, incident angle, pump power, and InN film thickness, resonance-enhanced optical rectification is one of the most plausible mechanisms for the THz generation in the InN films.

We demonstrate that the threshold for a mid-IR optical parametric oscillator based on periodically poled LiNbO3 is significantly reduced by the introduction of an optical amplifier inside the cavity. Thresholds as low as 8 mW and a tuning range of 3.0-4.2 microm were attained for stable single-mode operation.

A partly periodically poled KTiOPO(4) (KTP) crystal has been designed to integrate quasi-phase-matched second-harmonic generation (QPM SHG) with sum-frequency generation in one crystal for generating a third-harmonic beam. The highest conversion efficiencies of 45% and 3% have been achieved in our experiments for QPM SHG and third-harmonic generation, respectively, by use of picosecond laser pulses at 1.327 microm . We have also discovered that periodically poled KTP has slightly different indices (n(z)) from bulk KTP.

We have achieved effective third-harmonic generation (THG) by cascading second-harmonic and sum-frequency generation in a single cerium-doped KTiOPO (4) crystal by using femtosecond laser pulses at 1.32 microm. A conversion efficiency of 0.17% was achieved with an average pump power of 35 mW.Furthermore, a unique quadratic power dependence for this type of THG was confirmed. We developed a theory and obtained an analytical solution for the THG.The solution exactly describes the measured characteristics of the THG.

We describe a high-efficiency mutually pumped phase conjugator with ring channels in a bird-wing incident geometry in copper-doped potassium sodium strontium barium niobate. A transmissivity as great as 35% is measured. Optical switching is obtained. The dependence of phase-conjugation fidelity on the geometric parameters and the input-beam ratio is discussed. Some suggestions are proposed to improve the fidelity further. The response times as a function of the input-beam ratio with the input beam kept constant are measured, and the least-squares minimum is used to simulate the fitting curve equations and to explain the formation of optical switching and the reduction or improvement of image fidelity.

Four sets of multireflection orders from cat self-pumped phase conjugators of Cu-doped (K0.5Na0.5)0.2 (Sr0.75Ba0.25)0.9Nb2O6 (Cu:KNSBN) crystals are reported for the first time to our knowledge. The novel phenomenon of transient pulsation of the multireflection orders is observed and analyzed. The nonconjugate part accompanying the returning phase-conjugate beam is observed in the cat self-pumped phase conjugators of Cu:KNSBN and is analyzed by multireflections and two-wave mixing.

A new type of asymmetric optical transmission device based on contradirectional two-wave mixing between an incident beam and its backward-scattering beams in Fe-doped KTa(x)Nb(1-x)O(3) crystal is demonstrated. The transmittance ratio of the beams propagating in opposite directions can be adjusted by a change in the angle between the incident beam and the c axis; the maximum ratio is nearly 50:1 at only one incident beam. Approximate solutions of two opposite transmittances are derived and discussed. It is possible to use this device as an optical isolator or an optical diode.