Dynamics of a high-energy fiber optical parametric chirped-pulse oscillator

We investigate the performances and noise characteristics of the recent concept of fiber optical parametric chirped-pulse oscillator (FOPCPO). Our FOPCPO is based on an in-house built functionalized nonlinear fiber for power handling and delivers broadly tunable pulses in the 820 nm (signal) and 1380 nm (idler) bands. Pulses can be dechirped to sub-500 fs duration with an energy up to 500 nJ. This system also exhibits an excellent RIN and we highlight that the cavity’s feedback level is a key parameter that has a strong impact on the FOPCPO’s dynamics. We eventually compare the oscillator and amplifier configurations for equivalent pump levels and show, through RIN and DFT analysis, that FOPCPOs prove superior in terms of noise properties, confirming their potential for nonlinear imaging and spectroscopy experiments where low noise levels are essential.