Watt-level, high-repetition-rate, mid-infrared pulses generated by wavelength conversion of an eye-safe fiber source

We report on a mid-infrared (mid-IR) source consisting of an similar to 10 W average-power, linearly polarized 1.54 mu m wavelength pulsed fiber source pumping an optical parametric oscillator. From this source, we obtained average power in excess of 1 W in the 3.8-4.0 mu m wavelength range at a pulse repetition frequency of 100 kHz. With a slightly different setup, we also achieved an average power of 0.25 W at 4.5 mu m wavelength. To our knowledge, these values represent the highest mid-IR power obtained through wavelength conversion of an eye-safe fiber source. (c) 2006 Optical Society of America