Microcavity-enhanced surface-emitted second-harmonic generation for ultrafast all-optical signal processing

By incorporating an integrated microcavity into an optical waveguide structure with vertical quasi-phase-matching, we have realized surface-emitted second-harmonic generation devices that significantly enhance the conversion efficiency for optical pulses in the picosecond and sub-picosecond regimes. We demonstrate both theoretically and experimentally that nonlinear interactions involving short optical pulses can be enhanced by a microcavity, even when the resonance width is substantially narrower than the spectral content of the pulse. The resulting enhancement enables practical signal processing functions such as ultrafast optical time-division demultiplexing at 1.55 /spl mu/m in multilayer AlGaAs structures.