Patent ID: 8599475
Filing Date: 2013-12-03
Classification: G02F

Abstract:
1. A method comprising: arranging an optical resonator comprising two or more mirrors to support one or more resonant optical modes at a signal wavelength or an idler wavelength; positioning a nonlinear optical medium within the resonator, which nonlinear optical medium is arranged to provide optical parametric gain at the signal and idler wavelengths when optically pumped at a pump wavelength; optically pumping the nonlinear optical medium at the pump wavelength using a pump laser source that includes a modelocked fiber laser master oscillator and a mechanical actuator arranged to stretch a fiber segment of the master oscillator; and stretching the master oscillator fiber segment with the actuator by an amount required to substantially match a pulse repetition rate of the pump laser source to a repetition rate of the optical resonator, or to a multiple or submultiple thereof.