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Journal of the Optical Society of America B

Phase conjugation and stimulated effects in photorefractive materials

Jack Feinberg

Published Feb 1, 1986• 0 citations
OpenAlex

Abstract

Photorefractive materials exhibit a large optical nonlinearity which can efficiently couple even weak optical beams. If the nonlinear coupling strength exceeds a certain threshold (whose value depends on geometry), stimulated beams appear. We will review recent experiments demonstrating the mischievous and often useful properties of these stimulated beams. For example, a single-beam incident on a crystal of photorefractive barium titanate can stimulate the generation of a phase-conjugate beam.

Related papers

Observation of harmonic phase conjugation in a photorefractive medium

Tallis Y. Chang, Pochi Yeh

We demonstrate for the first time, to our knowledge, second harmonic optical phase conjugation, using the second spatial harmonics of a nonsinusoidal grating formed in a photorefractive material. The possibility of harmonic phase conjugation has been considered previously for artificial Kerr media.1 We have applied the same idea to barium titanate, since the existence of the higher-order gratings in this material has been known to us for some time. In our experiment, two 1.06-µm cw Nd:YAG laser beams wrote a grating in a poled photorefractive barium titanate crystal. Then a second harmonic of the YAG at 0.532 µm read out the grating in a counterpropagating direction to one of the writing beams. In this geometry, the usual Bragg condition is not satisfied. The reflectivity of the 0.532-µm signal was rather weak, ~0.01%, with ~0.1-mW reading beam power. The buildup time was around 3 s, with loosely focused writing beams with 50-mW power in each beam. The same experiment with a SBN crystal showed no significant harmonic phase conjugation. Finally, we stress that this effect is different from the previously published result.2

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The demonstration of optical phase conjugation in photorefractive materials has been accomplished by numerous methods, including i) externally-pumped four-wave mixing,1ii) self-pumped (passive) phase conjugation,24iii) stimulated backscattering,5,6and iv) mutually-pumped phase conjugation.7-10Stimulated backscattering and self-pumped phase conjugators have only a single incident beam. On the other hand, externally-pumped four-wave mixing has two auxiliary pumping beams in addition to the incident probe beam. Different still is the cross-conjugation of the two incident beams in mutually pumped phase conjugators. To use these conjugators in a given application, the compatibility between the processes generating the phase-conjugate wave(s) and the application must be considered. The distinguishing features of the different conjugators translate to advantages or disadvantages for certain applications.

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We show that a hybridization of the optical and material nonlinearities takes place near the threshold of the subharmonic generation in photorefractive crystals. It results in a critical (with a singularity) enhancement of the rate of spatial amplification of light waves and leads to a variety of new optical critical phenomena.

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Introduction To And Applications Of Optical Phase Conjugation

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Optical phase conjugation is concerned with the use of nonlinear optical effects to precisely reverse the direction of propagation of each plane wave in an arbitrary beam of light. This causes the return beam to exactly retrace the path of the incident beam, leading to many applications of automatic pointing and tracking (even in the presence of an inhomogeneous medium). The main goals of this course are familiarization with how each of the many nonlinear optical effects gives rise to a phase conjugate signal, and understanding and appreciation of the many potential applications for optical phase conjugation. Conjugation techniques involving Kerr-like degenerate four-wave mixing, resonant degenerate four-wave mixing, stimulated Brillouin scattering, photorefractive effects, surface phenomena, and others will be carefully reviewed. Applications of particular importance to this course will include distortion correction, pointing, tracking, laser-resonator design, optical information processing, etc. Throughout the course, key references will be identified for those wishing to pursue any topic more vigorously.

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Why Light Beams Follow Curved Paths in Photorefractive Phase Conjugators

V. V. Eliseev, A. A. Zozulya, G. D. Bacher +1 more

In recent years a variety of photorefractive phase conjugators have been demonstrated that rely on stimulated light beams.1-6 These self-pumped and mutually-pumped phase conjugators are all closely related7 and differ only in the number and angle of their input beams. Here we propose a detailed though necessarily simplistic description of how light beams spring up inside a photorefractive crystal, and why under some conditions these stimulated light beams appear to follow curved paths inside the crystal. We show that these curves are composed of a number of straight line segments which spring up by stimulated scattering in the photorefractive crystal.

Photorefractive Effects, Materials, and Devices•Jan 1, 1991•0 citations
Photorefractive materials exhibit a large optical nonlinearity which can efficiently couple even weak optical beams. If the nonlinear coupling strength exceeds a certain threshold (whose value depends on geometry), stimulated beams appear. We will review recent experiments demonstrating the mischievous and often useful properties of these stimulated beams. For example, a single-beam incident on a crystal of photorefractive barium titanate can stimulate the generation of a phase-conjugate beam.
We demonstrate for the first time, to our knowledge, second harmonic optical phase conjugation, using the second spatial harmonics of a nonsinusoidal grating formed in a photorefractive material. The possibility of harmonic phase conjugation has been considered previously for artificial Kerr media.1 We have applied the same idea to barium titanate, since the existence of the higher-order gratings in this material has been known to us for some time. In our experiment, two 1.06-µm cw Nd:YAG laser beams wrote a grating in a poled photorefractive barium titanate crystal. Then a second harmonic of the YAG at 0.532 µm read out the grating in a counterpropagating direction to one of the writing beams. In this geometry, the usual Bragg condition is not satisfied. The reflectivity of the 0.532-µm signal was rather weak, ~0.01%, with ~0.1-mW reading beam power. The buildup time was around 3 s, with loosely focused writing beams with 50-mW power in each beam. The same experiment with a SBN crystal showed no significant harmonic phase conjugation. Finally, we stress that this effect is different from the previously published result.2
The demonstration of optical phase conjugation in photorefractive materials has been accomplished by numerous methods, including i) externally-pumped four-wave mixing,1ii) self-pumped (passive) phase conjugation,24iii) stimulated backscattering,5,6and iv) mutually-pumped phase conjugation.7-10Stimulated backscattering and self-pumped phase conjugators have only a single incident beam. On the other hand, externally-pumped four-wave mixing has two auxiliary pumping beams in addition to the incident probe beam. Different still is the cross-conjugation of the two incident beams in mutually pumped phase conjugators. To use these conjugators in a given application, the compatibility between the processes generating the phase-conjugate wave(s) and the application must be considered. The distinguishing features of the different conjugators translate to advantages or disadvantages for certain applications.
Optical phase conjugation is concerned with the use of nonlinear optical effects to precisely reverse the direction of propagation of each plane wave in an arbitrary beam of light. This causes the return beam to exactly retrace the path of the incident beam, leading to many applications of automatic pointing and tracking (even in the presence of an inhomogeneous medium). The main goals of this course are familiarization with how each of the many nonlinear optical effects gives rise to a phase conjugate signal, and understanding and appreciation of the many potential applications for optical phase conjugation. Conjugation techniques involving Kerr-like degenerate four-wave mixing, resonant degenerate four-wave mixing, stimulated Brillouin scattering, photorefractive effects, surface phenomena, and others will be carefully reviewed. Applications of particular importance to this course will include distortion correction, pointing, tracking, laser-resonator design, optical information processing, etc. Throughout the course, key references will be identified for those wishing to pursue any topic more vigorously.
In recent years a variety of photorefractive phase conjugators have been demonstrated that rely on stimulated light beams.1-6 These self-pumped and mutually-pumped phase conjugators are all closely related7 and differ only in the number and angle of their input beams. Here we propose a detailed though necessarily simplistic description of how light beams spring up inside a photorefractive crystal, and why under some conditions these stimulated light beams appear to follow curved paths inside the crystal. We show that these curves are composed of a number of straight line segments which spring up by stimulated scattering in the photorefractive crystal.