Downloads & Free Reading Options - Results

Some years ago, a number of people independently suggested the use of the saturable absorber to induce optical bistability (hereafter referred to as OB). The phenomenon was demonstrated and studied recently by Gibbs, McCall and Venkatesan who used a cw dye laser to excite atoms of sodium vapor in a cell between the plates of a Fabry Perot interferometer. Under certain experimental and material conditions, they observed a nonlinear dependency of the transmitted field as a function of the dye-laser input which exhibited hysteresis, differential gain, and bistable behavior. Interest in OB from the practical applications standpoint stems from obvious device applications as the optical analog of the transistor, optical clipper or limiter and digital optical memory element. The recent demonstration of the phenomenon has generated considerable interest from the fundamental point of view as a clear example of spontaneous ordering in an open, stationary system of matter interacting with light. This has led to a surge of recent theoretical activity. (Author)