Optical parametric oscillators

Optical parametric amplification is inherently a broad band process and thus makes widely tunable optical amplifiers and coherent power sources possible. After a brief survey of the basic principles, the various factors contributing to a practical parametric amplifier and oscillator will be discussed. Among these will be, choice of material, phase matching, optical loss, the effect of modes, and tunability. The present status pulsed and continuous-wave parametric oscillator experiments will be reviewed and the future prospects for optical parametric devices will be discussed.