The vertical-cavity semiconductor parametric oscillator (/spl mu/OPO)

Summary form only given. Parameteric oscillators are nonlinear resonators in which a coherent pump wave is converted into coherent ´signal´ and ´idler´ waves of different frequency, thus forming the basis for broadband tuneable sources and mixers. They have found widespread application in both microwave and optical frequency regions, as well as providing a ´quantum testbed´ for some of the most profound demonstrations of non-classical photon states. The major stumbling block for optical parametric oscillators (OPOs) has been their inefficient optical nonlinearities, only recently improved by the introduction of patterned media such as periodically-poled lithium niobate. We report the first optical parametric oscillation of a microcavity (termed a /spl mu/OPO) which crucially depends on the exciton-photon-physics of a strongly, coupled semiconductor microcavity. When pumped by a CW near-infrared laser at a critical angle, the device coherently radiates signal and idler beams of different wavelength in different directions. Successful shrinking of the shortest previous OPO device by a factor of 10000 results from modifying the quantum properties of exciton-polaritons in a microcavity environment. Phase matched interactions are simultaneously -possible for the pump, signal and, idler photons due to the Coulomb interaction between electrons and holes in the semiconductor layers.