提出并实验探究了基于同步脉冲诱导的中红外差频产生技术，利用高速光电探测器将泵浦光脉冲转换为超短电信号，使其驱动宽带的幅度调制器，作用于可调谐连续激光器上，从而实现双色脉冲的稳定时域同步。利用了同步脉冲诱导的非线性差频过程，有效降低了光参量下转换的泵浦阈值，能够获得瓦量级的中红外超短脉冲输出，最大泵浦光转换效率达60%，且中心波长在3000~3175 nm范围内可调谐。得益于全保偏光纤架构，平均功率的不稳定度(STD/MEAN)在1 h内低至0.07%，展现了优异的长期稳定性。此外，该方案利用光-电-光高速调制实现高精度脉冲同步，免除了复杂的反馈电路，具有结构简单、即插即用、鲁棒性强的特点，为拓展中红外光源在野外的应用奠定了基础。

Optical detectors with single-photon sensitivity and large dynamic range would facilitate a variety of applications. Specifically, the capability of extending operation wavelengths into the mid-infrared region is highly attractive. Here we implement a mid-infrared frequency upconversion detector for counting and resolving photons at 3 μm. Thanks to the spectrotemporal engineering of the involved optical fields, the mid-infrared photons could be spectrally translated into the visible band with a conversion efficiency of 80%. In combination with a silicon avalanche photodiode, we obtained unprecedented performance with a high overall detection efficiency of 37% and a low noise equivalent power of 1.8×10-17W/Hz1/2. Furthermore, photon-number-resolving detection at mid-infrared wavelengths was demonstrated, for the first time to our knowledge, with a multipixel photon counter. The implemented upconversion detector exhibited a maximal resolving photon number up to 9 with a noise probability per pulse of 0.14% at the peak detection efficiency. The achieved photon counting and resolving performance might open up new possibilities in trace molecule spectroscopy, sensitive biochemical sensing, and free-space communications, among others.

We have proposed and experimentally demonstrated a novel scheme for efficient mid-infrared difference-frequency generation based on passively synchronized fiber lasers. The adoption of coincident seeding pulses in the nonlinear conversion process could substantially lower the pumping threshold for mid-infrared parametric emission. Consequently, a picosecond mid-infrared source at 3.1 μm was prepared with watt-level average power, and a maximum power conversion efficiency of 77% was realized from pump to down-converted light. Additionally, the long-term stability of generated power was manifested with a relative fluctuation as low as 0.17% over one hour. Thanks to the all-optical passive synchronization and all-polarization-maintaining fiber architecture, the implemented laser system was also featured with simplicity, compactness and robustness, which would favor subsequent applications beyond laboratory operation.