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Journal of the Optical Society of America B

Nonlinear Fabry–Perot action and optical bistability of a dielectric cladded thin film near the total internal reflection state

I. C. Khoo, Jingya Hou

Published May 1, 1985• 21 citations
Publisher

Abstract

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.

DOI
10.1364/josab.2.000761

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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.
The electrodynamic and nonlinear optical properties of an interface between two media, one of which is nonlinear, have been studied in the context of optical switching and bistability. In this paper we consider the case in which a thin-film nonlinear material is sandwiched between two higher-index dielectric media; i.e., there are two interfaces. For an optical beam incident near the total internal re- flection state the large reflectivity of the two inter- faces gives rise to Fabry-Perot transmission/re- flection. This together with the nonlinear phase shift that can be induced in the thin film makes it possible for the system to perform switching and bistable operations.
The reflection of light at the interface between linear and nonlinear media can provide fundamentally novel nonlinear effects such as nonlinear switching from total internal reflection to partial transmission, bleaching of the interface, and bistability. The nonlinear interface is the simplest switching and bistable optical device. Unlike bistable Fabry-Perot resonators, it allows one to use broadband sources of light and remove resonant restrictions on frequency tuning, and offers potentials to attain high operating speed. Experimental demonstration of those effects shows good agreement with some of the predictions of plane-wave theory. Some of the experimental results as well as computer simulation, however, show a new feature of the phenomenon which requires further exploration.
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.
We study the nonlinear optical bistability and multistability of a nonlinear ferroelectric (FE) Fabry-Perot (FP) interferometer assumed coated with partial dielectric mirrors on its interfaces. The FE material is considered to have an intensity-dependent refractive index where the third order nonlinear susceptibility χ ilmn (3) acts like Kerr coefficient. The nonlinear response of the FE medium is modeled by the Landau-Khalatnikov (LK) dynamical equation. Within a single frequency approximation, the nonlinear wave equation is written in terms of polarization P rather than the electric field E as the dependent variable. The resulting nonlinear polarization equation is numerically integrated across the FP film using the fourth order Runge-Kutta method. The behavior of the resulting polarization and transmission as a function of the field input intensity is investigated.
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.