Simultaneous measurement of patterns in the signal and idler near and far fields from a confocal optical parametrical oscillator with applications in quantum optics

We present the results of an experimental investigation of multimode intensity patterns from an optical parametric oscillator operating above threshold and show that it oscillates in 10-15 transverse modes strongly coupled through the nonlinear crystal, which makes this setup useful for future investigation of quantum correlations in the transverse plane. We describe the experimental setup for simultaneous measurements of signal and idler near- and far-field patterns and analyze the effects of various experimental complications such as walk-off and thermal index changes on the generated patterns. We also show that the oscillator can be stabilized by optical feedback, indicating a possible route for controlling the generated intensity patterns.