Sum-frequency Generation Using a Mode-locked Pulsed Laser and a Continuous-wave Diode Laser

We have experimentally demonstrated sum-frequency generation (SFG) in a periodically poled lithium niobate (PPLN) crystal, using a mode-locked picosecond-pulsed fiber laser and a continuous-wave (CW) diode laser with a narrow linewidth. The mode-locked fiber laser had a center wavelength of 1560.7 nm and a spectral width of 1.1 nm, and the CW diode laser had a center wavelength of 1551.0 nm and a spectral width of 6 MHz. To effectively realize SFG, both of the spatial modes of the two lasers were made to overlap in the PPLN crystal by using a single-mode optical fiber. The pulse-mode SFG with pulsed- and CW-mode lasers was successfully observed in the spectral and time domains. These results are expected to be applicable in various ways, such as optical frequency measurement and high-resolution laser spectroscopy studies using optical frequency combs.