Few-optical-cycle pulses in the near-infrared from a noncollinear optical parametric amplifier

We extend the concept of broadband phase matching in a noncollinear optical parametric amplifier (NOPA) to the near-IR. In an 800 nm pumped NOPA using periodically poled stoichiometric lithium tantalate, we amplify a spectrum spanning the 1.1-1.7 mu m range and corresponding to two optical cycles of the carrier wavelength. A limited portion of the spectrum is compressed by a prism pair down to 16 fs. (C) 2007 Optical Society of America.