Picosecond optical parametric oscillator directly pumped by a mode-locked diode laser

Summary form only given.In recent years, the optical parametric oscillator (OPO) has been successfully implemented as a convenient source of tunable coherent radiation in the ultra-short pulse regime. We present what is believed to be the first optical parametric oscillator synchronously pumped directly by a CW modelocked diode laser system. The resulting, ultrahigh repetition rate of 2.5 GHz and the broad wavelength tunability make the OPO interesting for applications such as the testing and characterisation of WDM transmission systems.