Mid Infrared Tunable Laser

TOPO: State of the Art Mid IR Tunable Laser Technology for Spectroscopy

1.43 - 4.2 µm (2400 - 7000 cm^-1)
Narrow linewidth: 2 MHz (1·10^-4 cm^-1)
Hands-free motorized tuning
300 GHz (10 cm^-1) mode-hop-free tuning range
Easy all-digital DLC pro control

Mid-infrared tunable lasers between 2 - 5 µm are necessary tools for applications like high resolution molecular spectroscopy and gas sensing, mid-infrared integrated photonics, optical component characterization, and quantum optics. For this reason, TOPTICA has developed a continuous wave optical parametric oscillator (OPO) that delivers the widest coverage of any MIR laser in this wavelength range. This system, the TOPO, has high power and narrow linewidth, and is capable of fast phase and frequency modulation necessary for sensitive gas phase MIR spectroscopy techniques.

The TOPO fills a critical gap in existing continuous wave laser technology. TOPTICA offers various tunable diode laser platforms to provide wide wavelength coverage below 2 µm. Wavelengths longer than 4 µm can be generated by quantum cascade lasers. Interband cascade lasers are the only laser diode technology with direct emission between 2 – 4 µm, and these lasers tend to have very small tuning ranges (few nm) and low output power (1 mW). The TOPO relies on TOPTICA’s long experience with efficient nonlinear frequency conversion of diode lasers to generate a high power MIR laser with wide tuning range.

Characteristic Tuning Curve

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Specification

DLC TOPO	Signal	Idler
Coarse tuning range (standard system)	1.45 - 2.07 µm 4830 - 6900 cm^-1	2.19 - 4.00 µm 2500 - 4570 cm^-1
Coarse tuning range (high power system)	1.43 - 2.07 µm 4830 - 7000 cm^-1	2.19 - 4.20 µm 2380 - 4570 cm^-1
Mode hop free tuning range	--	> 30 GHz (> 100 GHz typ.)
Linewidth	< 100 kHz < 1x10^-5 cm^-1	< 2 MHz (< 100 kHz opt.) < 1x10^-4 cm^-1
Output power (standard system)	> 10 mW at > 1.45 µm > 2 W at > 1.55 µm > 3 W peak	> 10 mW at < 4.00 µm > 1 W at < 3.6 µm > 2 W peak
Output power (high power system)	> 10 mW at > 1.43 µm > 4 W at > 1.60 µm > 5 W peak	> 10 mW at < 4.20 µm > 2 W at < 3.5 µm > 5 W peak
Frequency modulation and lock	PZT modulation	PZT modulation, pump frequency modulation
Beam Quality Factor M2	< 1.2 at < 3.6 µm	< 1.2 at < 3.6 µm
Control interfaces	DLC pro touchscreen, PC software, Ethernet, USB, analog remote control
Warm-up time	30 min. typ.
Dimensions seed laser head (H x W x D)	55 x 130 x 165 mm
Dimensions OPO head (H x W x D)	150 x 240 x 465 mm
Dimensions fiber amplifier (H x W x D)	133 x 482 x 438 mm
Dimensions control unit (H x W x D)	154 x 450 x 348 mm
Power consumption	Typ. < 250 W
PC Interface	Ethernet, USB, analog control
Environment temperature	15 - 30 °C (operating), 0 - 40 °C (storage and transport)
Environment humidity	non-condensing

Additional Information

Intensity noise of signal at 1.7 µm: RMS 0.15 %

Beat measurements of TOPO pump, signal, and idler. Pump and signal measurements are beats between TOPO and TOPTICA’s DFC CORE + frequency comb (approx. 20 kHz tooth linewidth) with smaller than 100 kHz beat width. Idler measurements are beats between the idlers of two similar TOPOs (both regular or both narrow linewidth option). In this case, the measured beat width is approximately a factor of √2 broader than the idler linewidth (notice the factor-of-10 frequency scale reduction in case of the narrow linewidth option), and we observe a significant reduction from the few-MHz range down to the 100-kHz range.

Options

Narrow linewidth	The optical spectrum of the idler output is a convolution of the seed laser and signal spectra. The standard TOPO uses the DLC DFB pro as its seed, with 2 MHz linewidth. An alternate seed option is the DLC CTL 1050, which has < 10 kHz linewidth. This results in an idler linewidth of < 100 kHz.
Fiber Delivery	Fiber Delivery (FD) is optionally available with TOPTICA's patented fiber coupler FiberDock and a suitable polarization maintaining (PM) fiber. FiberDock provides highest single-mode fiber coupling efficiencies, easy alignment and at the same time highest stability. For most lasers, we specify a PER behind fiber of >20 dB with our Fiber Delivery option. Please also inquire about Long Life and High Power fibers as well as fiber splitters. Optical isolation is mandatory for fiber coupled diode laser systems.
Laser Locking Electronics	A broad variety of electronic locking modules is available for frequency stabilization.

Applications
- Molecular Spectroscopy
- Quantum Optics
- Materials Testing
- Biophotonics
- Mid-IR integrated photonics
Downloads
Literature
- Article: Nanosecond time-resolved dual-comb absorption spectroscopy, Nature Photonics (2023)
- Article: Degenerate optical parametric amplification in CMOS silicon, Optica (2023)
- Article: High-resolution vibrational predissociation spectroscopy of I− · H2O by single-mode CW infrared excitation in a 3D cryogenic ion trap, Molecular Physics (2023)
- Article: Leak-Out Spectroscopy, A Universal Method of Action Spectroscopy in Cold Ion Traps (2022)
- Article: High-resolution, broadly-tunable mid-IR spectroscopy using a continuous wave optical parametric oscillator, Optical Express (2021)
- Whitepaper:Enabling high-resolution spectroscopy over the molecular stretch region Physics Today (2020)
- Poster: Broadly-tunable, High-resolution Mid-IR Spectroscopy, CLEO (2020)
- Application Note: Phase and Frequency Locking of Diode Lasers
Related Products
- TOPO smart
- Tunable diode laser: DFB pro, CTL
- Frequency converted lasers: SHG pro, DL-SHG pro, TA-SHG pro, TA-FHG pro