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.