Optical parametric amplification of a blueshifted output of a photonic-crystal fiber

Efficient optical parametric amplification of a frequency-upconverted output of a photonic-crystal fiber (PCF) is demonstrated using a double-pass parametric amplifier pumped by 65 mW 150 fs 100 kHz second-harmonic pulses of a Ti:sapphire laser. Such an amplifier provides gain factors in excess of 10(3) for the blueshifted PCF output, generating wavelength-tunable light pulses within the spectral range from 420 to 650 nm. Parametrically amplified pulses have a peak power up to 250 kW and a pulse width of about 200 fs at a repetition rate of 100 kHz, providing an average power up to 5 mW. (c) 2006 Optical Society of America.