Optical Parametric Devices in Periodically Poled LiTaO3

Optical parametric frequency conversion based on quasi phase matching (QPM) in nonlinear optical crystals is a powerful technique for generating coherent radiation in wavelength ranges spanning from the mid-infrared (mid-IR) to the blue, displaying low thermal load and high efficiency.This thesis shows how QPM in one- (1D) or two-dimensional (2D) lattices can be employed to engineer novel devices for parametric downconversion in the IR, af-fording freedom in designing both spectral and angular properties of the parametric output. Experimental demonstrations of parametric devices are supported by theoreti-cal modelling of the nonlinear conversion processes.In particular, broadband parametric downconversion has been investigated in 1D QPM lattices, through degenerate downconversion close to the point of zero group-velocity dispersion. Ultra-broadband optical parametric generation (OPG) of 185 THz bandwidth (at 10 dB), spanning more than one octave from 1.1 to 3.7 μm, has been achieved in periodically poled 1 mol% MgO-doped near-stoichiometric LiTaO3 (MgSLT) of 25 μm QPM period, pumped at 860 nm. Such broadband gain is of high interest for ultrashort optical pulse amplification, with applications in high harmonic generation, ultrafast spectroscopy and laser ablation. Furthermore, the det-rimental impact of parasitic upconversion, creating dips in the OPG spectrum, has been investigated. By altering the pump pulse duration, energy can be backconverted to create peaks at the involved OPG wavelengths, offering a possible tool to enhance broadband parametric gain spectra.The engineering of the angular properties of a parametric output benefits greatly from 2D QPM, which is investigated in this thesis by the specific example of hexagonally poled MgSLT. It is demonstrated how two OPG processes, supported by a single 2D QPM device, can exhibit angularly and spectrally degenerate signals (idlers). This degeneracy results in a coherent coupling between the two OPG pro-cesses and a spectrally degenerate twin-beam output in the mid-IR (near IR). 2D QPM devices exhibiting such coherently coupled downconversion processes can find applications as compact sources of entangled photon-pairs. This thesis further illus-trates the design freedom of 2D QPM through the demonstration of a device support-ing multiple parametric processes, thus generating multiple beams from the mid-IR to the blue spectral regions.QC 20131204