Kilohertz femtosecond uv-pumped visible β-barium borate and lithium triborate optical parametric generator and amplifier

We demonstrate optical parametric generation and amplification of femtosecond pulses in the entire visible range using type–I phase–matched β–barium borate and lithium triborate crystals pumped by the frequency–doubled output of a Ti:sapphire regenerative amplifier at 395 nm. The output is tunable from 470 to 770 nm with a pulse width of ∼170 fs at a repetition rate of 1 kHz and a maximum output energy of ;1.1 mJ/pulse. The visible optical parametric amplifier output was then frequency doubled and sum frequency mixed with the fundamental output of Ti:sapphire at 790 nm to produce UV pulses with a conversion efficiency of greater than 25%. The second harmonic generated UV pulses are tunable from 240 to 380 nm with a maximum pulse energy of ∼260 nJ/pulse.