Abstract
This thesis is divided into two parts. In the first part, we describe the design of a monolithic PPKTP crystal which is not only a nonlinear medium but also an optical resonator for implementing an optical parametric oscillator (OPO). The monolithic cavity simplifies the setup of our experiment and narrow the bandwidth of the OPO. In addition, we set up a tunable external cavity diode laser (ECDL) as a pumping source. With the pump and the monolithic crystal, we demonstrate a tunable, low-threshold and single-mode doubly resonant oscillator (DRO). The transverse mode of the OPO is TEM00; its threshold and conversion efficiency are 4.38 mw and 11.62%, respectively. In the second part of thesis, we solve the coupled wave equation analytically by assuming the phase matching condition. Moreover, we describe the rate equation of OPO by considering a special case — the balanced DRO. With the rate equation we study and simulate the oscillation of OPO and find out the dominant parameters of its dynamic behavior. Finally, we perform with our experiment, using an acousto-optic modulator to modulate the pump and therefore the OPO and comparing to our theoretical prediction.