Second-order Nonlinear Efficiency in II-VI Semiconductors for wavelength conversion applications in the near IR

We have performed a comparative characterization of second-order nonlinear response for several II-VI binary and ternary compounds in the near IR optical spectral region. The nonlinear coefficient d and the chromatic dispersion of the materials have been evaluated at the aid of a wide bandwidth spectral Maker fringes technique. By suitably normalizing experimental results in view of all-optical wavelength conversion applications at lambda =1.5 mum, it is shown that II-VI ternary alloys CdZnTe and CdMnTe can provide a better conversion efficiency than more commonly mentioned AlGaAs compounds.