Abstract

The possibility of getting all-optical switching and optical bistability in nonlinear Fabry-Perot has been investigated since the eighty’s. All the proposed cavities work on X⁽³⁾ nonlinearity. In the present paper we investigate the possibility of controlling the performance of a Fabry-Perot at a fixed wavelength by a second beam at its second harmonic. The device has been forced to be input-phase independent by using a type II nonlinear crystal for which just the second harmonic and one of the fundamental frequency beams are injected from outside, letting the latter fundamental beam to be generated inside the resonator. The problem has been solved by a new type of dummy-variable method (DVM) already proposed for X⁽³⁾ Fabry-Perot Different regimes of operation can be identified for the resonator according to the resonance conditions of each wavelength, which can give optical bistability of the internal modes and as a consequence of the device performances. By using effective nonlinearity of the order of 30-40 pm/V, typical values for organic crystals and semiconductors, bistability at regimes as low as 200-400 kW/cm² has been observed.

© 2001 EPS