Abstract

For a nonlinear optical crystal to be useful, optical nonlinearity is only one of many equally important properties that the material must have. In fact, large optical nonlinearity may be one of the easier material properties to predict and to have. Frequently, it is the other properties such as the mechanical, thermal, chemical, hygroscopic, linear dispersion and birefringence, optical damage, and crystal growth properties that are more difficult to predict. Yet, failure to meet some minimum requirement in any one of these properties could easily disqualify the material for a given application. Thus, in the search for new nonlinear optical materials, far more than the optical nonlinearity must be considered. Nevertheless, everything being equal, obviously the larger the optical nonlinearity the better is the material. In this talk, we will first review the basics of the nonlinear optical properties of crystalline materials.

© 1988 Optical Society of America