Fractional-Length Sync-Pumped Degenerate Optical Parametric Oscillator For 500-Mhz 3-Μm Mid-Infrared Frequency Comb Generation

We demonstrate a mid-IR frequency comb centered at 3120 nm with 650-nm (20-THz) bandwidth at a comb-teeth spacing of 500 MHz. The generated comb is based on a compact ring-type synchronously pumped optical parametric oscillator (SPOPO) operating at degeneracy and pumped by a mode-locked Er-doped 1560 nm fiber laser at a repetition rate of 100 MHz. We achieve high-repetition rate by using a fractional-length cavity with a roundtrip length of 60 cm, which is one-fifth of the length dictated by conventional synchronous pumping. © 2014 Optical Society of America