Microstructure Fiber Based Optical Parametric Oscillators

The current status of fiber based optical parametric oscillators is presented with a focus on pulsed systems employing microstructure fibers. It is shown based on standard expressions for parametric processes in optical fibers that systems employing short (less than a few cm) optical fibers lead to superior performance in terms of wavelength tunability and output power. Practical guidelines for realizing a working system are given. These devices are now practical as ultrafast pulsed-light sources and for extending the wavelengths of operation of existing mode-locked fiber lasers.