Feature

High Efficiency Second Harmonic Generation of a CW Frequency Stable Laser

W.J. Kozlovsky, C.D. Nabors and R.L. Byer

Nonlinear optics is often used to convert a laser output to other frequencies. In Second Harmonic Generation (SHG), for example, the laser is focused into a nonlinear crystal that produces an output beam at twice the laser frequency. The conversion efficiency of this process scales as the incident laser power. High-peak-power pulsed lasers are therefore easily converted with high efficiencies, but lower power continuous wave (cw) lasers have proven to be more difficult to convert efficiently.

Publish Date: 01 December 1988