To merge the fields of polarization and nonlinear optics opens wide perspectives. The present work aims at investigating some of them. It is shown, on one hand, that if a nonlinear Fabry- Perot resonator filled with an optically isotropic material is addressed by an obliquely incident beam, the transmitted irradiance can switch from an up to a down state (or the reverse) if its polarization is properly modulated. If on the other hand the nonlinear cavity is filled with a linearly birefringent material, polarization optical bistability can occur, even at normal incidence. This polarization bistability can arise both by modulating the incident irradiance and by modulating the incident polarization. Optical bistability of the transmitted irradiance can also be induced by the modulation of the polarization of the incident beam. All these features provide new tools for parallel digital optical information processing.

Date Published: 28 June 1993
PDF: 11 pages
Proc. SPIE 1807, Photonic Switching, (28 June 1993); doi: 10.1117/12.147902

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 1807:
Photonic Switching
Andrey M. Goncharenko; Fedor V. Karpushko; George V. Sinitsyn; Sergey P. Apanasevich, Editor(s)