The Conversion Efficiency of Femtosecond Ytterbium Fiber Laser Pulses to the Mid-IR Range in AgGaS2, BaGa4Se7, and HgGa2S4 Crystals

The efficiency of AgGaS2, BaGa4Se7, and HgGa2S4 crystals has been investigated in a mid-IR frequency difference generator based on a femtosecond ytterbium fiber laser with a wavelength of 1.03 μm, pulse duration of 0.25 ps, pulse repetition rate of 10 kHz, and average radiation power of 5 W. It is shown that under the given experimental conditions the highest efficiency of difference-frequency generation (up to ~7.5%) is achieved with a HgGa2S4 crystal that provides 2 or 3 times higher energy of pulses with a wavelength of 4 to 7 μm (up to 6 μJ) without damaging it. In addition, this crystal yielded the longest wavelength of converted radiation—11 μm with pulse energy ~1 µJ.