Thermal optimization of second harmonic generation at high pump powers

We measure the temperature distribution of a 3 cm long periodically poled LiNbO3 crystal in a single-pass second harmonic generation (SHG) setup at 488 nm. By means of three resistance heaters and directly mounted Pt100 sensors the crystal is subdivided in three sections. 9.4 W infrared pump light and 1.3 W of SHG light cause a de-homogenized temperature distribution of 0.2 K between the middle and back section. A sectional offset heating is used to homogenize the temperature in those two sections and thus increasing the conversion efficiency. A 15% higher SHG output power matching the prediction of our theoretical model is achieved. (C) 2011 Optical Society of America