Linear and nonlinear optical properties of AgGaS<inf>2</inf>, CuGaS<inf>2</inf>, and CuInS<inf>2</inf>, and theory of the wedge technique for the measurement of nonlinear coefficients

Abstract

The refractive indices of the ternary <tex xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">A^{I}B^{III}C_{2}^{VI}</tex> semiconductors AgGaS <inf xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</inf> , CuGaS <inf xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</inf> , and CuInS <inf xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</inf> have been measured over the entire range of transparency of these crystals. The optical nonlinear coefficients for second-harmonic generation have also been determined. Three-frequency collinear phase matching is analyzed in detail for AgGaS <inf xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</inf> . The birefringences of CuGaS <inf xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</inf> and CuInS <inf xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</inf> are not large enough to permit three-frequency phase matching within the transparent regions. A parametric oscillator threshold calculation for a pump wavelength 0.89 μ, which is within the range of the GaAs injection laser, indicates that AgGaS <inf xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</inf> is promising for this application. The upconversion efficiency in AgGaS <inf xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</inf> for sum mixing of the CO <inf xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</inf> laser ( <tex xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">\lambda = 10.5 \mu</tex> ) with the xenon ion laser ( <tex xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">\lambda = 0.597 \mu</tex> ) is also calculated. The result indicates that, depending upon system requirements and the availability of high optical quality material, AgGaS <inf xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</inf> can be comparable to ZnGeP <inf xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</inf> for upconversion. In Appendix II, we present a theory of the wedge technique for the measurement of nonlinear coefficients. This theory takes into account losses and assumes a Gaussian beam geometry. Furthermore, a discussion of units in nonlinear optics is given.