Second harmonic generation in gallium phosphide photonic crystal nanocavities with ultralow continuous wave pump power

We demonstrate second harmonic generation in photonic crystal nanocavities fabricated in the semiconductor gallium phosphide. We observe second harmonic radiation at 750 nm with input powers of only nanowatts coupled to the cavity and conversion efficiency P-out = P-in,coupled(2) = 430%/W. The large electronic band gap of GaP minimizes absorption loss, allowing efficient conversion. Our results are promising for integrated, low-power light sources and on-chip reduction of input power in other nonlinear processes. (C) 2009 Optical Society of America