Abstract

The backward parametric oscillations in the parallel propagation configuration¹ have not been observed because of the lack of appropriate materials for achieving quasi phase matching. Recently, following Ref. 2, quasi phase matching based on GaAs/AlGaAs multilayers³ and on asymmetric quantumwell domain structures⁴ was achieved. Here, for the first time to the best of our knowledge, we propose to use the second-order optical nonlinearities of these structures in a vertical cavity to achieve tunable and efficient transversely pumped counterpropagating optical parametric oscillations (TPCOPOs) and amplifications (TPCOPAs), see Fig. 1. As in Refs. 3 and 4, the quasi phase matching can be achieved in these structures by spatially modulating the second-order susceptibility along the growth direction.

© 1995 Optical Society of America