Nonlinear effects in a liquid crystal optical oscillator
Year: 2007
Authors: Residori S., Bortolozzo U., Huignard J.-P., Montina A., Arecchi F.T.
Autors Affiliation: INLN, Univ. de Nice Sophia-Antipolis, CNRS (France);
Lab. de Physique Statistique de l’ENS (France);
Thales Research and Technology (France);
Physics Department, University of Florence, Largo E. Fermi 6, 50125 Florence, Italy
Abstract: A nonlinear optical medium results by the collective orientation of liquid crystal molecules tightly coupled to a transparent photoconductive layer made of a BSO photorefractive crystal. The nonlinear medium, called photorefractive liquid crystal light-valve, gives a large two-wave-mixing gain, thus, when inserted in a ring cavity, it results in an unidirectional optical oscillator. Dynamical regimes with many interacting modes are made possible by the wide transverse size and the high nonlinearity of the liquid crystal gain medium. In particular, we show the generation of spatiotemporal. pulses, coming from the random superposition of many longitudinal and transverse modes simultaneously oscillating in the cavity.
Journal/Review: PROCEEDINGS OF SPIE
Volume: 6654 Pages from: 665406-1 to: 665406-11
More Information: U. Bortolozzo acknowledges the support of the EU Contract N. MEIF-CT-2006-041594