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Physical Review A

Theory and experiment on optical bistability in a Fabry-Perot interferometer with an intracavity nematic liquid-crystal film

I. C. Khoo, Jingya Hou, Richard J. F. Normandin, Vincent So

Published Jun 1, 1983• 25 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We have studied theoretically and experimentally the nonlinear Fabry-Perot transmission of a cavity with a thin nematic liquid-crystal film. Various modes of operation have been observed, using a moderate-power cw laser. In the limit of small reorientation angles, the optically induced molecular reorientation of the birefringent crystal and the nonlinear phase shift is solved for a homeotropically aligned crystal. Multiple-valued Fabry-Perot transmission is obtained by solving the nonlinear equations that couple the optical phase shift with the cavity transmission. The time-independent nature of the process and the explicit quantitative expressions involving the nematic liquid-crystal parameters allow a direct comparison between the thoery and experimental results. Good quantitative agreement is demonstrated.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.27.3251

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We have studied theoretically and experimentally the nonlinear Fabry-Perot transmission of a cavity with a thin nematic liquid-crystal film. Various modes of operation have been observed, using a moderate-power cw laser. In the limit of small reorientation angles, the optically induced molecular reorientation of the birefringent crystal and the nonlinear phase shift is solved for a homeotropically aligned crystal. Multiple-valued Fabry-Perot transmission is obtained by solving the nonlinear equations that couple the optical phase shift with the cavity transmission. The time-independent nature of the process and the explicit quantitative expressions involving the nematic liquid-crystal parameters allow a direct comparison between the thoery and experimental results. Good quantitative agreement is demonstrated.
A theory is presented for the transverse intensity distribution bistability of a Gaussian optical beam after its passage through a nonlinear thin film. The equations governing the intensity distribution are cast in the form analogous to optical bistability in a longitudinal cavity (a Fabry-Perot interferometer), i.e., into two coupled transcendental equations from which multiple solutions are obtained. This formalism allows one to examine various physical approximations in obtaining the equations, and to improve on these approximations. It also lucidly illustrates the mechanisms of transverse intensity distribution bistability. The theoretical predictions are verified with quantitative experimental results on thin films of nematic liquid crystals.
Abstract Molecular reorientation and laser heating induced by an optical field can yield significant changes in the refractive indices in a nematic liquid crystal. A c.w. laser beam is intense enough to induce a phase retardation much larger than 2pi in a nematic film less than 100 pm thick. Optical bistability in such a film sandwiched between mirrors can be readily observed. Coupling between the two mechanisms for induced refractive indices can lead to interesting results in the bistable operation.
A nonlinear thin film bounded by two dielectric media could act as an optical switching and bistability device, owing to two physical mechanisms at work near the total internal reflection state. One is the simple intensity-dependent index change induced by the finite optical field in the film before transmission occurs, and the other is the nonlinear Fabry-Perot interference associated with the high reflectivities at the two interfaces when transmission takes place. We present a detailed theory for these two mechanisms and for the case in which the nonlinearity is also nonlocal (e.g., in a liquid-crystal film). The results for multiple switchings and hysteresis hold in general for any nonlinear thin film.