Efficient generation of widely tunable picosecond pulses from the visible to near-infrared is demonstrated by optical parametric generation and amplification in BiB3O6. Pumped by the second harmonic of an amplified mode-locked Nd:YAG laser at 532 nm, also generated in BiB3O6, a signal and idler tuning range of 740-1893 nm has been achieved with angle tuning under type I (o→e+e) phase-matching in the optical yz-plane. With 40-ps pump pulses of 420-μJ energy, single-pass signal pulse energies of up to 48.6 μJ have been obtained at total OPA pump to signal and idler conversion efficiency as high as 30%. Significant temperature tuning under type I (o→e+e) noncritical interaction along the optical z-axis is also demonstrated, extending the signal tuning range from 740 nm down to 676 nm and idler tuning range from 1893 nm up to 2497 nm. Using second harmonic generation of the amplified signal pulses, also in BiB3O6, wavelength extension to 370-500 nm has been achieved at 24% conversion efficiency, providing 10-μJ pulses across the tuning range. Optical parametric generation and amplification in BiB3O6 under strong two-photon absorption pumped by 210-μJ pulses at 355 nm is also reported, providing amplified signal pulse energies of 14.2 μJ at OPA conversion efficiency as high as 21% and a spectral coverage across 450-1674 nm.
