Abstract

Recently, Harris, Field and Imamoglu² have proposed a method for obtaining high conversion efficiency in four-wave frequency mixing by making use of the Autler-Townes effect The basis of their method is the application of a strong-coupling field between metastable and upper states to resonantly enhance the nonlinear susceptibility of the medium, and at the same time to induce transparency and a zero in the contribution of the resonance transition to the refractive index. In the present paper, we show theoretically and experimentally that the same characteristics-may be realized with D.C. electric-field-induced second-harmonic generation in atomic hydrogen for the n = 2 → 1 transition.

© 1990 Optical Society of America