Nonlinear optical device using self-trapping of light
US4410239A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Apr 17, 1981 |
| Grant date | Oct 18, 1983 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Apr 17, 2001 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG02F3/02
- WIPO fieldOptics
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
Many prior art bistable optical devices require resonant optical cavities and are therefore limited in their operation due to the long lifetimes associated with their high-finesse cavities. A bistable optical device that does not use a resonant cavity is disclosed wherein a nonlinear medium whose index of refraction increases with increased light intensity is arranged to have input and output faces into which and out of which a laser beam having a nonuniform spatial profile can be propagated. A mirror having a predetermined area of reflectivity is positioned with respect to the output face of a nonlinear medium so as to reflect only the light energy that propagates in an area at the output face that is approximately equal to the area which the beam presents at this face when the beam is propagating at a critical power level, that is, when the beam is self-trapped.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.