Abstract

The behavior of light waves in a homogeneous dielectric crystal is the same as that in a continuous medium, because the wave vector of light is much smaller than the reciprocal vectors of crystal lattice. However, if some microstructure is introduced into a dielectric crystal, forming a superlattice, and if the reciprocal vectors of the superlattice are comparable with the light-wave vectors, the situation is quite different. The interactions between light-wave vectors and reciprocal vectors of superlattice may generate some physical effects. It is the interactions that have led to new frequency generations in a quasi-periodic optical superlattice (QPOSL) with quasi-phase-matching schemes (QPM).

© 1998 Optical Society of America