Generation of broadly tunable sub-30-fs infrared pulses by four-wave optical parametric amplification

We report on the generation of sub-30-fs near-IR light pulses by means of broadband four-wave parametric amplification in fused silica. This is achieved by frequency downconversion of visible broadband pulses provided by a commercial blue-pumped beta-barium borate crystal-based noncollinear optical parametric amplifier. The proposed method produces the IR idler pulses with energy up to ~20 µJ and tunable in wavelength from 1 to 1:5 µm. The shortest pulse duration is 17:6 fs, measured at 1:2 µm. © 2011 Optical Society of America.