Soviet Journal of Quantum Electronics
Boundary-value problems in nonlinear optics of resonant media
V. I. Rupasov, Vladimir I. Yudson
Abstract
A study is made of the problem of transmission of light pulses by a boundary of a nonlinear medium under conditions of coherent interaction with matter. It is shown that in the case of a semiinfinite nonlinear medium the reflection coefficient is governed by the linear characteristics of the media in contact so that the boundary-value problem reduces to the Cauchy problem. In another case, when a nonlinear medium is a thin film at the interface between two linear media, it is found that such a film is an almost perfect mirror reflecting weak pulses but it becomes transparent to pulses of sufficiently high intensity and the mirror then modulates the amplitude of such pulses.