Method using a monolithic crystalline material for producing radiation by quasi-phase-matching, diffusion bonded monolithic crystalline material for quasi-phase-matching, and method for fabricating same

In a method of fabricating a monolithic nonlinear crystalline material for the transfer of energy from input radiation to a selected converted frequency of output radiation, the steps of:

• (a) providing a plurality of wafers of a nonlinear crystalline material that individually have a dimension along an expected optical path through said wafer selected so that said plurality will optimize the conversion of energy from said input radiation to said converted frequency;
• (b) orienting said wafers in a stack to optimize said conversion in adjacent wafers;
• and
• (c) diffusion bonding adjacent wafers together to form said monolithic nonlinear crystalline material.

In a method of producing radiation of a selected frequency from input radiation by optical parametric oscillation, the steps of:

• (a) providing a monolithic nonlinear monocrystalline material made up of a plurality of wafers of nonlinear monocrystalline material which are diffusion bonded together, which wafers individually have a dimension along an expected optical path through the same generally equal to the coherence length in said wafer for the desired conversion or a multiple of the same and each of which varies uniformly in thickness in the direction of said expected path length, said wafers being oriented in said material both to optimize conversion of radiation from an input radiation to said selected frequency and to match said variations in thickness and thereby provide a wedge configuration;
• (b) passing input optical radiation through said monolithic nonlinear monocrystalline material to provide output optical radiation via a nonlinear interaction;
• and
• (c) translating said wedge configuration relative to said input radiation to provide output radiation having the desired frequency.