Abstract

Although the theory and practice of optical- wave mixing have been standardized for many years, new observations and discoveries continue to emerge as we reexamine the underlying basic processes in terms of some novel properties of the materials. In this paper, we present a detailed theory and experimental confirmation of a new class of parametric interactions that are mediated by the birefringence of the medium.^1,2 Birefringence is a naturally occurring property in the myriad of electro-optical and nonlinear optical crystals used in many. Hence, this new class of optical-wave mixing processes will greatly enhance the avenues for new fundamental as well as applied pursuits, in birefringent materials possessing focal (e.g., Kerr-like media) and nonlocal nonlinearities (e.g., photoretractive crystals), our theory and numerical estima tes will dearly illustrate that two coherent beams of mixed polarizations can be efficiently coupled through the laser-induced modifications of the extraordinary and ordinary refractive indices.

© 1992 Optical Society of America