Abstract

The dynamics of optical phase conjugation by four-wave mixing in a single-grating, anisotropic photorefractive material are described by a system of five nonlinear partial differential equations, which govern the complex amplitudes of the waves and the grating. Exact solutions of these equations are available only in the steady state. Numerical solutions have been found by Bledowski et al.¹ under the assumption that the phase difference between the probe and the forward pump is constant and that the transit time is negligible. We developed a finite-difference scheme to study the dynamics of the phase-conjugation process for various waveforms of the probe and pumps. In particular, we examined situations for which the grating and the conjugate wave have sustained values, even after the probe has been turned off. We was found that this occurs for certain values of the coupling coefficient and certain pump magnitudes. Sustained gratings initiated by pulsed probes may have applications to dynamic holography.

© 1990 Optical Society of America