Abstract

New ideas about the theory and use of nonlinear thin lenses (e.g., light-induced lenses, whose optical thickness is significantly less than its focal length) are developed. It is shown that the properties of an arbitrary optical system containing a nonlinear lens are invariant to a special dimensionless combination of incident laser beam parameters and optical system ray matrix elements. Diffraction of basic Gaussian beams (TEM₀₀ laser mode) with nonlinear lenslike aberrations in optical systems has been investigated analytically and numerically for the most important case of inertialess cubic nonlinearity. Agreement between the new theory and results obtained by others is demonstrated, and novel nonlinear lens properties are predicted. In particular, conditions for which the radiation intensity does not depend on input power are defined. Unlike the optical limitations explored earlier, these nonlinear optical systems achieve regulation precision intensity radiation with high weak signal transmittance and good optical quality of the output beam.

© 1990 Optical Society of America