An experimental and theoretical study of intrinsic correlations and noise-suppression mechanisms in two-stage femtosecond mid-IR light sources is presented. The setup, based on parametric amplification in BBO and subsequent difference-frequency mixing in AgGaS₂, delivers ≈100-fs mid-IR pulses with 1–2-μJ energy. Exceptionally low pulse-energy fluctuations of only 0.2% in the mid-IR (λ ≈ 3–6 μm) are found, which are much smaller than the Ti:sapphire amplifer noise. The noise suppression is analyzed and found to stem from the interplay between dispersion and pump depletion.

© 2000 Optical Society of America

[Optical Society of America ]

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