Abstract

One of the great challenges in nonlinear optics is the establishment of reliable absolute values of optical nonlinearities as most measurements are made in comparison to a standard material. For third-order nonlinearities this is often fused silica whereas α-quartz is typically used in second-order nonlinear optics such as e.g. frequency-doubling. Up to now there still exists a considerable uncertainty of the choice of reliable reference materials and standard values.

© 2000 IEEE