TOPAS-TWINS consists of two independently tunable optical parametric amplifiers (OPAs) integrated into a single housing. Both OPAs share the same white light source to provide excellent stability of both outputs, and CEP stabilized mid-IR pulses in a tuning range of 4.5 – 15 μm.

Both OPAs come with wavelength extension options, covering the wavelength range from 240 nm to 20 μm. Output specifications for each OPA are the same as those of TOPAS-PRIME. The maximum pump pulse energy depends on the pulse duration; see the specifications for more details.

Specifications Notes

TOPAS-TWINS specifications are given for the following pump laser parameters:

800 nm wavelength
1 mJ pulse energy
1 kHz repetition rate
30 – 40 fs pulse duration
Gaussian beam

Note 1: Specifications are given for a single TOPAS-TWINS channel.

Note 2: Specifications depend on pump wavelength and pulse duration. If they differ from the values above, contact sales@lightcon.com.

Note 3: Output pulse energy of each TOPAS-TWINS channel scales linearly in 1 – 4 mJ range, provided the device is installed and optimized for particular pump energy. The device has to be re-optimized if the pump energy changes more than 10% from the installation value.

Pump Laser Requirements

Model	TOPAS-TWINS
OPA channel	OPA-1	OPA-2
Pump wavelength	770 – 830 nm
Pump pulse duration (FWHM)	20 – 70 fs
Pump pulse energy	0.15 – 1 mJ	0.15 – 4 mJ
Repetition rate	< 25 kHz ¹⁾
Maximum pump power	15 W into each OPA ²⁾
Pump polarization	Horizontal
Spectral bandwidth	< 1.2× transform limit
Energy stability	< 1% RMS deviation ³⁾
Stability of pulse duration	< 1% pulse-to-pulse ⁴⁾
Pulse front tilt	< 10% of pulse duration
Pulse contrast	< 1: 20
Beam quality (M²)	< 1.3 ⁵⁾
Beam astigmatism	< 0.15 ⁶⁾
Input beam spatial profile	Gaussian – Super Gaussian
Intensity modulation	< 15%, no hot spots ⁷⁾
Beam pointing stability	< 10 μrad ⁸⁾
Beam divergence	< 1.2× diffraction limit
Beam height from optical table	125 – 185 mm from optical table
Beam diameter (1/e²)	< 9.5 mm ⁹⁾

Maximum repetition rate for DFG1 (NDFG1) option is 1 kHz.
Contact sales@lightcon.com for higher pump power options.
Normalized to average pulse energy, NRMSD.
Normalized to average pulse duration, NRMSD.
M² specification valid for Gaussian beam.
Normalized astigmatism – difference of the waist positions, divided by Raleigh length.
Normalized to Gaussian or Super-Gaussian fits, NRMSD.
NRMSD, full angle.
Optional external telescope can be ordered for the beam diameter of 9.5 – 28 mm.

Output

Model	TOPAS-TWINS
Tuning range (Signal and Idler combined)	1160 – 1600 nm (Signal) 1600 – 2600 nm (Idler)
Conversion efficiency at peak (Signal and Idler combined)	> 25%
Pulse duration	(1 – 1.5)× pump pulse duration @ 1160 – 1550 nm < 2× pump pulse duration @ 1550 – 2600 nm
Time-bandwidth product	< 1
Polarization	Vertical (Signal) Horizontal (idler)
Pulse-to-pulse energy stability	< 3% RMS deviation ¹⁾ @ 1160 – 1550 nm

Normalized to average pulse energy, NRMSD.

VIS-UV Extension Options (240 – 1160 nm)

Extension	Standard NIRUVIS	Separate mixer stage(s)
Level of computer control	Manual change of wavelength separators
Maximum wavelength range	240 – 1160 nm
Housing	Monolithic housing	No common housing
Number of output ports	Four ¹⁾

Output ports are wavelength-dependent.

VIS Extension (475 – 1160 nm)

Extension		Standard NIRUVIS	Separate mixer stage
SHI	Tuning range	800 – 1160 nm
	Conversion efficiency at peak	> 2%	> 1.5%
	Pulse duration	(1 – 1.5)× pump pulse duration
	Polarization	Vertical
SHS	Tuning range	580 – 800 nm
	Conversion efficiency at peak	> 3%
	Pulse duration	(1 – 1.5)× pump pulse duration @ 620 – 800 nm
	Polarization	Vertical	Horizontal

Extension		Standard Niruvis
Fresh pump option		Not available
SFI	Tuning range	533 – 600 nm
SFI	Conversion efficiency at peak	> 3%
SFS	Tuning range	475 – 533 nm
SFS	Conversion efficiency at peak	> 4%
Pulse duration		(1 – 1.5)× pump pulse duration
Polarization		Vertical

UV Extensions (240 – 480 nm)

Extension		Standard NIRUVIS	Separate mixer stage
FHI	Tuning range	400 – 480 nm
	Conversion efficiency at peak	> 0.4%	> 0.25%
	Pulse duration	(1.2 – 2)× pump pulse duration
	Polarization	Horizontal
FHS	Tuning range	290 – 400 nm
	Conversion efficiency at peak	> 0.5%
	Pulse duration	(1.2 – 2)× pump pulse duration
	Polarization	Horizontal	Vertical

Extension		Standard NIRUVIS
SH of SFI	Tuning range	266 – 295 nm
	Conversion efficiency at peak	> 0.3%
	Pulse duration	(1.2 – 2)× pump pulse duration
	Polarization	Horizontal
SH of SFS	Tuning range	240 – 266 nm
	Conversion efficiency at peak	> 0.3%
	Pulse duration	< 3× pump pulse duration
	Polarization	Horizontal

DFG Extension (2600 – 13000 nm)

Extension	NDFG1W ¹⁾	NDFG1K ²⁾	NDFG2	SIG-SIG NDFG
Tuning range	2.6 – 9 μm	2.6 – 4.5 μm	4 – 13 μm	4.5 – 13 μm
Conversion efficiency at peak	> 0.2%	> 0.4%	> 0.2%	> 0.15%
Pulse duration	< 3× pump pulse duration		Not specified
Polarization	Horizontal

Maximum pump repetition rate – 1 kHz. Limited crystal life time of 1000 – 2000 h.
Not available in collinear configuration.

Specifications Notes

TOPAS-TWINS specifications are given for the following pump laser parameters:

800 nm wavelength
1 mJ pulse energy
1 kHz repetition rate
100 – 150 fs pulse duration
Gaussian beam

Note 1: Specifications are given for a single TOPAS-TWINS channel.

Note 2: Specifications depend on pump wavelength and pulse duration. If they differ from the values above, contact sales@lightcon.com.

Note 3: Output pulse energy of each TOPAS-TWINS channel scales linearly in 1 – 4.5 mJ range, provided the device is installed and optimized for particular pump energy. The device has to be re-optimized if the pump energy changes more than 10% from the installation value.

Pump Laser Requirements

Model	TOPAS-TWINS
OPA channel	OPA‑1	OPA‑2
Pump wavelength	770 – 830 nm
Pump pulse duration (FWHM)	70 – 200 fs
Pump pulse energy	0.15 – 1.5 mJ	0.15 – 4.5 mJ
Repetition rate	< 25 kHz ¹⁾
Maximum pump power	15 W into each OPA ²⁾
Pump polarization	Horizontal
Spectral bandwidth	< 1.2× transform limit
Pulse-to-pulse energy stability	< 1% RMS deviation ³⁾
Pulse duration stability	< 1% pulse-to-pulse ⁴⁾
Pulse front tilt	< 10% of pulse duration
Pulse contrast	< 1 : 20
Beam quality (M²)	< 1.3 ⁵⁾
Beam astigmatism	< 0.15 ⁶⁾
Beam spatial profile	Gaussian – Super Gaussian
Intensity modulation	< 15%, no hotspots ⁷⁾
Beam pointing stability	< 10 μrad ⁸⁾
Beam divergence	< 1.2× diffraction limit
Beam height from optical table	125 – 185 mm
Beam diameter (1/e²)	< 9.5 mm ⁹⁾

Maximum repetition rate for DFG1 (NDFG1) option is 1 kHz.
Contact sales@lightcon.com for higher pump power options.
Normalized to average pulse energy, NRMSD.
Normalized to average pulse duration, NRMSD.
M² specification valid for Gaussian beam.
Normalized astigmatism – difference of the waist positions, divided by Raleigh length.
Normalized to Gaussian or Super-Gaussian fits, NRMSD.
NRMSD, full angle.
Optional external telescope can be ordered for the beam diameter of 9.5 – 28 mm.

Output

Model	TOPAS-TWINS
Tuning range	1160 – 1600 nm (Signal) 1600 – 2600 nm (Idler)
Conversion efficiency at peak (Signal and Idler combined)	> 25%
Pulse duration	(0.7 – 1)× pump pulse duration
Time-bandwidth product	< 1
Polarization	Vertical (Signal) Horizontal (Idler)
Pulse-to-pulse energy stability	< 2% RMS deviation ¹⁾ @ 1160 – 1550 nm

Normalized to average pulse energy, NRMSD.

VIS-UV Extension Options (240 – 1160 nm)

Extension	Standard NIRUVIS	Separate mixer stage(s)
Control	Manual change of wavelength separators
Maximum wavelength range	240 – 1160 nm
Housing	Monolithic housing	No common housing
Number of output ports	Four ¹⁾

Output ports are wavelength-dependent.

VIS Extension (475 – 1160 nm)

Extension		Standard NIRUVIS	Separate mixer stage
SHI	Tuning range	800 – 1160 nm
	Conversion efficiency at peak	> 5%	>3%
	Pulse duration	(0.7 – 1)× pump pulse duration
	Polarization	Vertical
SHS	Tuning range	580 – 800 nm
	Conversion efficiency at peak	> 8%
	Pulse duration	(0.7 – 1)× pump pulse duration
	Polarization	Horizontal

Extension		Standard NIRUVIS
Fresh pump option		Not available
SFI	Tuning range	533 – 600 nm
	Conversion efficiency at peak	> 5%
	Pulse duration	(0.7 – 1)× pump pulse duration
SFS	Tuning range	475 – 533 nm
	Conversion efficiency at peak	> 7%
	Pulse duration	(0.8 – 1.2)× pump pulse duration
Polarization		Vertical

UV Extensions (240 – 480 nm)

Extension		Standard NIRUVIS	Separate mixer stage
FHI	Tuning range	400 – 480 nm
	Conversion efficiency at peak	> 1.5%	> 0.6%
	Pulse duration	(0.7 – 1)× pump pulse duration
	Polarization	Horizontal
FHS	Tuning range	290 – 400 nm
	Conversion efficiency at peak	> 1.5%
	Pulse duration	(0.8 – 1.2)× pump pulse duration
	Polarization	Vertical

Extension		Standard NIRUVIS
SH of SFI	Tuning range	266 – 295 nm
	Conversion efficiency at peak	> 0.7%
	Pulse duration	(0.8 – 1.2)× pump pulse duration
	Polarization	Horizontal
SH of SFS	Tuning range	240 – 266 nm
	Conversion efficiency at peak	> 0.8%
	Pulse duration	< 1.5× pump pulse duration
	Polarization	Horizontal

DFG Extension (2600 – 20000 nm)

Extension	NDFG1W ¹⁾	NDFG1K ²⁾	NDFG2	SIG-SIG NDFG
Tuning range	2.6 – 11 μm	2.6 – 4.9 μm	4 – 20 μm	4.5 – 16 μm
Conversion efficiency at peak	> 0.8%	> 1%	> 0.6%	> 0.25%
Pulse duration	< 2× pump pulse duration		Not specified
Polarization	Horizontal

Maximum pump repetition rate – 1 kHz. Limited crystal life time of 1000 – 2000 h.
Not available in collinear configuration

Dimensions

Model	TOPAS-TWINS
General dimension of the housing (W × L × H)	350 × 680 × 156 mm
NIRUVIS housing dimensions (W × L × H)	230 × 450 × 156 mm
DFG/NDFG housing dimensions (W × L × H)	230 × 330 × 156 mm

Publications

Carrier Transport Across a CdSxSe1–x Lateral Heterojunction Visualized by Ultrafast Microscopy

D. D. Blach, W. Zheng, H. Liu, A. Pan, and L. Huang, The Journal of Physical Chemistry C 21 (124), 11325-11332 (2020).

Ultrafast structural changes within a photosynthetic reaction centre

R. Dods, P. Båth, D. Morozov, V. A. Gagnér, D. Arnlund, H. L. Luk, J. Kübel, M. Maj, A. Vallejos, C. Wickstrand et al., Nature 7841 (589), 310-314 (2020).

Transient absorption spectroscopy TOPAS-TWINS