Frequency-tripled fiber MOPA

1. Optical apparatus, comprising:

a fiber-MOPA, the fiber MOPA including an arrangement for providing pulses of radiation having a fundamental wavelength, an arrangement for dividing the fundamental-wavelength pulses into first and second portions and directing the first and second pulse-portions into respectively first and second output channels, and first and second fiber-amplifiers in respectively the first and second channels for amplifying respectively the first and second fundamental-wavelength pulse-portions;

an arrangement for generating second-harmonic radiation pulses from the amplified fundamental-wavelength pulse portions from the first fiber-amplifier; and

an arrangement for sum-frequency mixing the second-harmonic radiation pulses with amplified second fundamental-wavelength pulse-portions from the second fiber-amplifier to provide pulses of third-harmonic radiation and wherein there are residual portions of the amplified fundamental-wavelength pulse-portions from the first fiber-amplifier remaining from the second-harmonic generation process, and wherein the apparatus includes means for preventing the residual portions from entering the sum-frequency mixing arrangement.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the amplified first and second fundamental-wavelength pulse-portions are plane-polarized in the same orientation, the second harmonic generation is type-1 second-harmonic generation, and the sum frequency mixing is type-2 sum-frequency mixing.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the amplified first fundamental-wavelength pulse-portions have horizontal and vertical polarization components, the amplified second fundamental-wavelength pulse-portions are horizontally plane-polarized, the second-harmonic generation is type-2 second-harmonic generation, and the sum frequency mixing is type-2sum-frequency mixing.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the amplified first fundamental-wavelength pulse-portions are vertically plane-polarized, the amplified second fundamental-wavelength pulse-portions are horizontally plane polarized, the second-harmonic generation is type-1 second-harmonic generation, and the sum frequency mixing is type-1 sum-frequency mixing.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein there is polarization rotating device between the second fiber-amplifier and the third harmonic generation, wherein the amplified first fundamental-wavelength pulse-portions are horizontally plane-polarized, the amplified second fundamental-wavelength pulse-portions are vertically plane-polarized on exiting the second fiber-amplifier, the polarization rotating device is configure to rotate the vertical orientation of the amplified second fundamental-wavelength pulse-portions to a horizontal orientation, the second-harmonic generation is type-1 second-harmonic generation, and the sum-frequency mixing is type-2 sum-frequency mixing.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein there is an arrangement for combining the second-harmonic radiation pulses and the amplified second fundamental-wavelength pulse-portions on a common path to the sum-frequency mixing arrangement

7. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the second-harmonic radiation pulses and the amplified second fundamental wavelength pulse-portions from the second fiber-amplifier are directed into the sum-frequency mixing arrangement on respectively first and second paths at an angle to each other.

8. The apparatus of claim 7 , wherein the angle between the first and second paths is selected cooperative with the sum-frequency generating arrangement to minimize Poynting-vector walk-off in the sum-frequency generating process.

9. Optical apparatus, comprising:

a fiber-MOPA, the fiber MOPA including an arrangement for providing pulses of radiation having a fundamental wavelength, an arrangement for dividing the fundamental-wavelength pulses into first and second portions and directing the first and second fundamental-wavelength pulse-portions into respectively first and second output channels, and first and second fiber-amplifiers in respectively the first and second channels for amplifying respectively the first and second fundamental-wavelength pulse-portions;

an arrangement for generating second-harmonic radiation pulses from the amplified fundamental-wavelength pulse portions from the first fiber-amplifier;

a polarization-selective reflective and transmissive surface arranged to cause the second-harmonic radiation pulses and amplified second fundamental-wavelength pulse-portions from the second fiber-amplifier to propagate collinearly along a common path; and

a sum-frequency generator arranged to receive the collinearly propagating second-harmonic radiation pulses and amplified second fundamental-wavelength pulse-portions and sum-frequency mix the second-harmonic radiation pulses and amplified second fundamental-wavelength pulse-portions to provide pulses of third-harmonic radiation and wherein there are residual portions of the amplified fundamental-wavelength pulse portions from the first fiber-amplifier remaining from the second-harmonic generation process, and wherein the polarization-selective reflective and transmissive surface prevents these residual portions of the amplified fundamental-wavelength pulses from entering the sum-frequency generator.

10. The apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the polarization-selective reflective and transmissive surface is an internal surface of a bi-prism.

11. The apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the amplified first and second fundamental-wavelength pulse-portions are each horizontally polarized, the second-harmonic radiation pulses are vertically polarized, the polarization-selective reflective and transmissive surface is reflective for horizontally polarized fundamental radiation and transmissive for vertically polarized second-harmonic radiation, and wherein the polarization-selective reflective and transmissive surface transmits the second-harmonic radiation pulses along the common path and reflects the amplified second fundamental-wavelength pulse-portions along the common path.

12. The apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the amplified first fundamental-wavelength pulse portions have horizontal and vertical polarization components, the amplified second fundamental-wavelength pulse-portions are horizontally plane-polarized, the second-harmonic pulses are vertically polarized, the polarization-selective reflective and transmissive surface is reflective for horizontally polarized fundamental radiation and transmissive for second-harmonic radiation, and wherein the polarization-selective reflective and transmissive surface transmits the second-harmonic radiation pulses along the common path and reflects the amplified second fundamental-wavelength pulse-portions along the common path.

13. The apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the amplified first fundamental-wavelength pulse-portions are vertically plane-polarized, the amplified second pulse portions are horizontally plane polarized, the second-harmonic pulses are horizontally polarized the polarization-selective reflective and transmissive surface is reflective for horizontally polarized fundamental radiation and transmissive for horizontally polarized fundamental radiation and second-harmonic radiation, and wherein the polarization-selective reflective and transmissive surface transmits the second-harmonic radiation pulses along the common path and reflects the amplified second fundamental-wavelength pulse-portions along the common path.

14. A method of generating third harmonic pulses comprising the steps of:

generating fundamental laser pulses from a fiber master oscillator;

splitting each of the pulses between first and second propagation channels;

amplifying the fundamental pulses in the first channel;

frequency converting the amplified fundamental pulses in the first channel into second harmonic pulses;

amplifying the fundamental pulses in the second channel; and

sum frequency mixing the second harmonic pulses and the amplified fundamental of the second channel to generate third harmonic pulses and wherein there are residual portions of the amplified fundamental-wavelength pulses remaining from the frequency converting step and further including the step of excluding the residual portions from the sum-frequency mixing step.

15. A method as recited in claim 14 , wherein the frequency conversion step is type-1 and the sum frequency mixing step is type-2.

16. A method as recited in claim 14 , wherein the frequency conversion step is type-2 and the sum frequency mixing step is type-2.

17. A method as recited in claim 14 , wherein the frequency conversion step is type-1 and the sum frequency mixing step is type-1.

18. Optical apparatus, comprising:

a fiber-MOPA, the fiber MOPA including an arrangement for providing pulses of radiation having a fundamental wavelength, an arrangement for dividing the fundamental-wavelength pulses into first and second portions and directing the first and second fundamental-wavelength pulse-portions into respectively first and second output channels, and first and second fiber-amplifiers in respectively the first and second channels for amplifying respectively the first and second fundamental-wavelength pulse-portions;

an arrangement for generating second-harmonic radiation pulses from the amplified fundamental-wavelength pulse portions from the first fiber-amplifier;

a polarization-selective reflective and transmissive surface arranged to cause the second-harmonic radiation pulses and amplified second fundamental-wavelength pulse-portions from the second fiber-amplifier to propagate collinearly along a common path; and

a sum-frequency generator arranged to receive the collinearly propagating second-harmonic radiation pulses and amplified second fundamental-wavelength pulse-portions and sum-frequency mix the second-harmonic radiation pulses and amplified second fundamental-wavelength pulse-portions to provide pulses of third-harmonic radiation and wherein the amplified first and second fundamental-wavelength pulse-portions are each horizontally polarized, the second-harmonic radiation pulses are vertically polarized, the polarization-selective reflective and transmissive surface is reflective for horizontally polarized fundamental radiation and transmissive for vertically polarized second-harmonic radiation, and wherein the polarization-selective reflective and transmissive surface transmits the second-harmonic radiation pulses along the common path and reflects the amplified second fundamental-wavelength pulse-portions along the common path.