Four-Wave Mixing In Ingaas/Alassb Intersubband Transition Optical Waveguides

Four-wave mixing (FWM) in an In(x)Ga(1-x)As/AlAs(y)Sb(1-y) intersubband transition (ISBT) optical waveguide operating in the 1.55-mu m wavelength region is discussed. The third-order optical nonlinear susceptibilities of InxGa(1-x)As/AlAs(y)Sb(1-y) multiple quantum wells (MQWs) are estimated theoretically. ISBT excitation causes large third-order optical nonlinearity. chi((3)) values of more than 1 x 10(16) m(2)/V(2) are obtained. The propagation of interacting waves for FWM in In(x)Ga(1-x)As/AlAs(y)Sb(1-y) ISBT optical waveguides is discussed. The interaction length is limited not only by phase matching but also by ISBT absorption. Sufficiently high FWM conversion efficiencies were obtained theoretically and experimentally for realizing coherent wavelength convertors. FWM in an InxGa(1-x)As/AlAs(y)Sb(1-y) ISBT waveguide is a promising method for realizing compact and high-efficiency coherent wavelength conversion. (C) 2011 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3639293]