Abstract
We analyze the gain behavior of an optical amplifier that is optically pumped by two counterpropagating beams that are mutually coherent. The pump beams interfere inside the amplifier, resulting in a nonuniform distribution of the pumping. In the low-pump-intensity regions of the amplifier, the medium absorbs, and in the high-pump-intensity regions amplification can be obtained. The combination of the absorbing regions and the amplifying can lead to bistable behavior inside a resonator. The effect was analyzed for three-level gain media applicable to erbium-doped fiber amplifiers and lasers.
© 1997 Optical Society of America
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