Nonlinear optics of normal-mode-coupling semiconductor microcavities

The authors review the nonlinear:optical properties of semiconductor quantu m wells that are grown inside high-e Bragg-mirror microcavities. Light-matt er coupling in this system is particularly pronounced, leading in the Linea r regime to a polaritonic mixing of the excitonic quantum well resonance an d the single longitudinal cavity mode. The resulting normal-mode splitting of the optical resonance is observed in reflection, transmission, and lumin escence experiments. In the nonlinear regime the strong light-matter coupli ng influences the excitation-dependent bleaching of the normal-mode resonan ces for nonresonant excitation, leads to transient saturation and normal-mo de oscillations for resonant pulsed excitation and is responsible for the d ensity-dependent signatures in the luminescence characteristics. These and many more experimental observations are summarized and explained in this re view using a microscopic theory for the Coulomb interacting electron-hole s ystem in the quantum well that is nonperturbatively coupled to the cavity l ight field. [S0034-6861(99)01005-3].