Abstract
It is well known that modulation instability (MI) develops in dispersive media with cubic nonlinearities via four-photon mixing processes. Recently MI was also predicted to occur in quadratic media where, e.g., it induces sideband generation around both the fundamental and second-harmonic components of the nonlinear eigenmodes of free-space second-harmonic generation [1], Here we show that MI builds up also in cw-pumped dispersive degenerate optical parametric oscillators (OPOs). This is important because, in this case, the interplay of driving, damping and dispersion leads to the formation of pulse trains via generation of multiple (higher harmonics) phase-locked sideband pairs. This occurs in parameter regions, that we have been able to determine, where MI prevails over other instability mechanisms such as bistability and self-pulsing [2-4].
© 1996 Optical Society of America
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