Abstract

Analytical descriptions are presented of properties of TE guided modes of a linear planar wave-guiding layer on a thick nonlinear substrate characterized by a dielectric permittivity containing terms quartic as well as quadratic in the magnitude of the electric field of the propagating optical wave. Conditions for and characteristics of interface guided modes are also presented. Both initially focusing and initially defocusing situations are considered. Useful dimensionless parameters for compactly presenting the power-dependent mode spectra are described. These results, which generalize those in Ref. ¹, have several applications including (1) providing an analytical description of the first stages of departure from nonlinearity in saturable media, (2) modeling situations in which free carriers produced by two-photon absorption contribute to the optical susceptibility, and (3) determining the range of validity of commonly used approximations for TM modes on Kerrlike nonlinear substrates.

© 1987 Optical Society of America