Editing Optical amplifier (section)

== Optical parametric amplifier ==
An [[optical parametric amplifier]] allows the amplification of a weak signal-impulse in a nonlinear medium such as a [[Centrosymmetry|noncentrosymmetric]] nonlinear medium (e.g. [[Beta barium borate]] (BBO)) or even a standard fused silica optical fiber via the [[Kerr effect]]. In contrast to the previously mentioned amplifiers, which are mostly used in telecommunication environments, this type finds its main application in expanding the frequency tunability of ultrafast [[solid-state laser]]s (e.g. [[Ti-sapphire laser|Ti:sapphire]]). By using a [[Collinear|noncollinear]] interaction geometry optical parametric amplifiers are capable of extremely broad amplification bandwidths.