Chalcogenide optical parametric oscillator

We demonstrate the first optical parametric oscillator (OPO) based on chalcogenide glass. The parametric gain medium is an As(2)Se(3) chalcogenide microwire coated with a layer of polymer. The doubly-resonant OPO oscillates simultaneously at a Stokes and an anti Stokes wavelength shift of >50 nm from the pump wavelength that lies at λ(P) = 1,552 nm. The oscillator has a peak power threshold of 21.6 dBm and a conversion efficiency of >19%. This OPO experiment provides an additional application of the chalcogenide microwire technology; and considering the transparency of As(2)Se(3) glass extending far in the mid-infrared (mid-IR) wavelengths, the device holds promise for realizing mid-IR OPOs utilizing existing optical sources in the telecommunications wavelength region.