Abstract

The interaction of four waves propagating in a medium with third-order nonlinearities is considered. In general, nonlinear phase shifts detune the interaction before the transfer of energy from the pump to the daughter waves is complete. Fortunately, however, it is possible to compensate for this nonlinear detuning by imposing a linear wave-number mismatch on the interaction. Simple criteria are given that allow the weaker pump wave to be depleted completely and, hence, the energy transfer to be maximized. Some exact solutions of the four-wave equations are used to illustrate the underlying wave physics, and some useful approximate solutions are described. As an application of the general theory, near-collinear four-wave mixing in a Kerr medium is discussed briefly.

© 1993 Optical Society of America

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