Optical parametric oscillators (review)

Fundamentals of the theory of the optical parametric oscillators (OPO's) are reviewed and formulas are presented for the calculation of the main OPO parameters (Sees. 1–6). Experimental results obtained in the development and investigation of various types of OPO and their applications are discussed (Sec. 7). Methods for extending the tuning ranges of OPO's (Sec. 8) and the possibility of realization of four-photon oscillators (Sec. 9) are considered. The review concludes with a comparison of various types of tunable laser (Sec. 10).