Femtosecond 1.4–1.6 μm infrared pulse generation at a high repetition rate by difference frequency generation

Abstract
Tunable subpicosecond infrared pulses have been generated in the 1.4–1.6 μm region by mixing a 1.064 μm Nd:YAG laser pulse and a visible subpicosecond pulse from a cavity dumped, synchronously pumped dye laser. Pulses as short as 94 fs with a peak power of 8.4 kW have been obtained with a KTP crystal at a rate of 3.8 MHz.