Doubly Tunable Femtosecond Pulses Generated in the Visible using Optical Parametric Amplifiers for Time-resolved Spectroscopy

Many time-resolved spectroscopy techniques require two broadly and independently tunable, synchronised light pulses. This requirement can be met by optical parametric oscillators (OPOs) [1] and travelling wave optical parametric amplifiers (OPAs) [2, 3, 4, 5]. The latter capable of providing higher pulse energies. Our aim was to develop a multikilohertz repetition rate OPA system capable of providing femtosecond/picosecond, synchronised and independently tunable pump and probe pulses in the visible part of the spectrum for time-resolved absorption and resonance Raman spectroscopies.