Manifestation of optical energy switching in the four-wave interaction involving pairs of counterpropagating waves

Konstantin Y. Nikitenko, Vyacheslav A. Trofimov

Yang Zhao

The use of four-wave mixing as an all-optical switching device is described. The switching process involves strong pump depletion and results from large-signal interactions. Interesting relationships among the input, the optical control, and the output signals and the parameters of the nonlinear medium are identified.

Sergey A. Podoshvedov

Ting K. Yee, M. C. Gower

We have used a diagrammatic approach first developed for nonlinear optical calculations of the density operator to obtain expressions for the transition probability in various laser-switched collision processes. Not only do these diagrams considerably simplify the algebra involved in such calculations, but they also afford a clear visualization of the interaction. In particular, pair absorption, laser-switched Raman scattering, and collisionally enhanced hot luminescence and four-wave mixing processes are considered.

A. Ya. Izmailov

Sushree S. Sahoo, Snigdha Sarita Pati, Ashok Kumar Mohapatra

Mirrorless optical parametric oscillator (MOPO) is a consequence of intrinsic feedback provided by the nonlinearity in a medium due to the interaction of a pair of strong counterpropagating fields. As the name suggests, the device does not require a cavity for lasing other than the nonlinear medium. Here we report the demonstration of MOPO under the effect of an all-optical waveguide. The efficient four-wave mixing process due to counterpropagating pump and control fields interacting with a multilevel atomic system facilitates the generation of mirrorless Stokes and anti-Stokes fields counterpropagating to each other. The maximum generated laser power could rise up to mW with pump conversion efficiency more than 30%. Furthermore, the cross-phase modulation due to the strong fields creates all-optical waveguides for the generated fields and hence induces correlated spatial modes in the Stokes and the anti-Stokes fields.