Analysis of optically amplified mid-infrared parametric generation in AlGaAs waveguides

Based on the recent breakthroughs in oxidized AlGaAs technology, a considerable improvement in IR generation through merging of optical amplification and three-wave mixing is predicted. Amplification of one of the two input fields is shown to strongly relax the phase-matching condition for difference-frequency generation in AlGaAs waveguides. This effect is potentially crucial for the realization of an integrated semiconductor optical parametric oscillator.