We demonstrate the potential of noncollinear parametric interaction in a traveling wave MgO:LiNbO3 optical parametric amplifier operating in the mid infrared near 3 mu m. Our calculations indicate that for pump wavelengths below 816 nm (the wavelength near which collinear group matching is achieved at a fixed signal wavelength of 1064 nm), the group velocity mismatch can be reduced and the parametric gain can be increased by noncollinear propagation of the three beams. Experimentally we verify this by producing approximate to 2.5 times higher energy and shorter pulse duration (125 fs against 180 fs) at the idler wavelength by noncollinear interaction as compared to collinear interaction. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved