Parametric frequency modulation of picosecond light pulses in quadratically nonlinear crystals

Theoretical and experimental investigations were made of chirping (linear frequency modulation of the carrier frequency in a pulse) of radiation from an optical parametric oscillator pumped by linearly chirped pulses. It is shown that such an oscillator is an efficient converter of a pump chirp into a linear chirp of the output pulses. The latter may be stronger than the pump chirp, which provides new opportunities for mastering the femtosecond range.