Opt Lett. 2017 Apr 15;42(8):1504-1507. doi: 10.1364/OL.42.001504.

Ultra-broadband mid-wave-IR upconversion detection.

Optics letters

Ajanta Barh, Christian Pedersen, Peter Tidemand-Lichtenberg

PMID: 28409783 DOI: 10.1364/OL.42.001504

Abstract

In this Letter, we demonstrate efficient room temperature detection of ultra-broadband mid-wave-infrared (MWIR) light with an almost flat response over more than 1200 nm, exploiting an efficient nonlinear upconversion technique. Black-body radiation from a hot soldering iron rod is used as the IR test source. Placing a 20 mm long periodically poled lithium niobate crystal in a compact intra-cavity setup (>20  W CW pump at 1064 nm), MWIR wavelengths ranging from 3.6 to 4.85 μm are upconverted to near-infrared (NIR) wavelengths (820-870 nm). The NIR light is detected using a standard low-noise silicon-based camera/grating spectrometer. The proposed technique allows high conversion efficiency over a wider bandwidth without any need for a shorter crystal length. Different analytical predictions and numerical simulations are performed a priori to support the experimental demonstrations.

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• Journal Article