Parametric oscillation in vertical triple microcavities

Abstract

Optical parametric oscillation is a nonlinear process that enables coherent generation of 'signal' and 'idler' waves, shifted in frequency from the pump wave. Efficient parametric conversion is the paradigm for the generation of twin or entangled photons for quantum optics applications such as quantum cryptography, or for the generation of new frequencies in spectral domains not accessible by existing devices. Rapid development in the field of quantum information requires monolithic, alignment-free sources that enable efficient coupling into optical fibres and possibly electrical injection. During the past decade, much effort has been devoted to the development of integrated devices for quantum information and to the realization of all-semiconductor parametric oscillators. Nevertheless, at present optical parametric oscillators typically rely on nonlinear crystals placed into complex external cavities, and pumped by powerful external lasers. Long interaction lengths are typically required and the phase mismatch between the parametric waves propagating at different velocities results in poor parametric conversion efficiencies. Here we report the demonstration of parametric oscillation in a monolithic semiconductor triple microcavity with signal, pump and idler waves propagating along the vertical direction of the nanostructure. Alternatively, signal and idler beams can also be collected at finite angles, allowing the generation of entangled photon pairs. The pump threshold intensity is low enough to envisage the realization of an all-semiconductor electrically pumped micro-parametric oscillator.

Vortices in Polariton OPO Superfluids

“…OPA was first observed in an InGaAs/GaAs/AlGaAs microcavity [49], where a substantial signal gain of up to 70 was measured. Much experimental work has followed this first result [50,51,52,53,54,55,56,57,58,59]. Pump-probe parametric amplification of polaritons with an extraordinary gain up to 5000 and at temperatures up to 120K has been reached in GaAlAs-based microcavities and up to 220K in CdTe-based microcavities [55].…”

Coupling of exciton-polaritons inlow−Qcoupled microcavities beyond the rotating wave approximation

“…Some researchers analyzed the polariton-polariton interaction potentials using pump-probe degenerate scattering 9 . With the increasing degrees of freedom, these multiple microcavity systems have promising applications, such as angle-resonant stimulated polariton amplifiers and optical parametric oscillators 10,11 .…”

“…Coupled microcavities introduce additional degrees of freedom, both for materials and the cavity interactions, and have attracted increasing attention. Quantum well based coupled inorganic microcavites (MCs) have been well studied for theory and optical devices [4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11] . Cavity polariton-induced splitting of excitonic states and optical reflection asymmetry were reported by Armitage et al in quantum well based coupled inorganic MCs 6,7 .…”

Hybrid states of Tamm plasmons and exciton polaritons

“…4 Being mixed light-matter quasiparticles, exciton polaritons can retain coherence when ballistically propagating over several hundreds of microns in planar microcavities, 5 which in principle makes possible their use in logic elements, such as "polariton neurons," 6 based on the transport of spin or optical polarization over macroscopic distances. However, the realization of exciton-polariton integrated circuits based on a network of polariton neurons linked by logic gates with different geometries requires the creation in the plane of a microcavity of channels that are suitable for guiding the polaritons in the required directions.…”