Abstract

The initial theoretical studies¹ of an interface between two dielectric materials, one of which has an intensity-dependent refractive index predicted that under appropriate conditions the reflectivity of the interface exhibit optical hysteresis and bistability². The effect occurs at grazing angles of incidence and for weak nonlinearities. Then, the hysteresis jumps from the regime of nonlinear total internal reflection to the vanishing reflection regime appear in the reflection coefficient. There has been considerable evidence that surface waves have a strong influence on the nonlinear reflection², but the current status of both theoretical and experimental investigations of nonlinear surface waves is far from being satisfactory.

© 1988 Optical Society of America