Abstract
Second order non-linear optical effects in quasi-phase-matched structures have been the subject of much research activity in recent years. In particular, cascaded χ(2):χ(2) interactions can give rise to non-linear phase shifts which may be employed in an all-optical switch device [1]. Here we are concerned with a novel quasi-phase-matching scheme which relies on the fact that an asymmetric MQW waveguide has associated with it significant second-order susceptibility tensor components which are not present for a symmetric QW structure [2]. By periodically intermixing an asymmetric MQW waveguide along its length therefore, these second-order non-linearities can, in theory, be modulated to achieve domain-disordered quasi-phase-matching. In this paper we shall present experimental evidence to demonstrate the feasibility of realising such a device in GaAs/AlGaAs for operation at 1.55µm. Un-phase-matched second-harmonic conversion efficiencies have been observed for disordered and non-disordered waveguides which suggest that the nonlinearity associated with asymmetric QWs is significantly reduced by intermixing. Experimental results also indicate that the spatial resolution of the impurity-free vacancy diffusion (IFVD) QW intermixing process [3] used throughout this work is sufficient for first-order quasi-phase-matching of the second harmonic generation.
© 1996 Optical Society of America
PDF ArticleMore Like This
Patrick Dumais, Alain Villeneuve, A. Saher-Heuny, J. Stewart Aitchison, Lars Friedrich, Russell A. Fuerst, and George I. Stegeman
WD13 Nonlinear Guided Waves and Their Applications (NP) 1999
Ayman M. Kan'an, Patrick Li-Kam-Wa, Mitra-Dutta, and Jagadeesh Pamulapati
CWD7 Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics (CLEO:S&I) 1996
A. Saher Helmy, D. C. Hutchings, T. C. Kleckner, J. H. Marsh, A. C. Bryce, J. M. Arnold, C. R. Stanley, J. S. Aitchison, C. T. A. Brown, K. Moutzouris, and M. Ebrahimzadeh
TuD2 Nonlinear Optics: Materials, Fundamentals and Applications (NLO) 2000