Abstract

The role of nonlinear optical materials in high-speed applications such as optical switching, amplification, frequency conversion, and limiting has created a need for an efficient method of characterizing time dependent nonlinear phenomena. Semiconductors, in particular, exhibit a broad range of nonlinear effects with response times that span over ten orders of magnitude due to electronic nonlinearities, free-carrier effects, and thermal non-linearities. These nonlinearities can add constructively or destructively. For example, in the case of optical limiters fast diffusive (negative) nonlinearities are compromised by the effects of slow focusing (positive) thermal nonlinearities,¹ placing additional temporal constraints on a useful limiting system.

© 1996 Optical Society of America