Since the invention of the transistor in 1947 by Bardeen and Brattain  and William B. Shockley at the Bell Laboratories, followed by the invention of the integrated circuit independently by Jack Kilby at Texas Instruments in 1958 and by Jean Hoerni and Robert Noyce at Fairchild Semiconductor Corporation in 1959, the semiconductor industry has undergone an astonishing expansion. Today, after more than 60 years later, semiconductors are critical components in our daily life. Semiconductor-based integrated circuits can be found in almost every technology including mobile phones, laptops, TVs, medical devices, sensors, solar cells, all-optical-networks, kitchen appliances, vehicles, aviation, and much more.

Conductivity is the parameter that makes semiconductor such special materials. The conductivity of naturally occurring semiconductor elements, such as Silicon or Germanium, can be changed by altering the materials with small amounts of doping. Besides, unlike conductors and insulators, the conductivity of semiconductors can vary with environmental parameters such as temperature, light or electric current. This has made semiconductors find an extensive range of applications in electronics.

A broadly tunable femtosecond laser source is the ideal illumination source for such characterization experiments. It provides the high peak powers required to generate the nonlinear phenomena, while at the same time offering the spectral flexibility to fully characterise the materials.

Mode-locked femtosecond Ti:Sapphire lasers provide the required peak powers and spectral coverage across the 700 – 1000 nm range. However, lasers with longer wavelengths are needed for the study of semiconductors in the near-IR and mid-IR regions.

For example, semiconductor-based all-optical networks typically work at 850, 1300 and 1550 nm, but the spectral coverage of Ti:Sapphire lasers is not sufficient to characterise materials across all these wavelengths. Sensing applications are another example where semiconductors with nonlinear properties in the near-IR and mid-IR spectral regions provide important advantages.

Radiantis OPO, Oria IR^TM, offers an excellent wavelength extension for femtosecond Ti:Sapphire MHz repetition rate lasers. This OPO converts the wavelengths emitted by a Ti:Sapphire laser into the 1000 – 4000 nm region, at 80 MHz and with femtosecond pulses of the order of 100 – 200 fs across the range. This is a sealed, fully automated optical parametric oscillator that provides tuning exclusively via the software installed on a dedicated computer available with the laser.

• Broad tuning across 990 – 1550 nm and 1696 – 4090 nm.
• Independent pump and Signal/Idler tuning.
• Highest average power, >1 W at the peak of the range.
• Hands-free operation.
• Compatible with standard MHz femtosecond Ti:Sapphire oscillators.