Photovoltaic contribution to counter-propagating two-beam coupling in photorefractive lithium niobate
G. Cook,J.P. Duignan,D.C. Jones;G. Cook;J.P. Duignan;D.C. Jones;
optics communications2001Vol. 192pp. 393-398
148
jones2001opticsphotovoltaic
Abstract
A direct observation of the role of the photovoltaic effect in counter-propagating two-beam coupling in photorefractive iron-doped lithium niobate has been made. Through the application of a strong external field we directly observe that the photovoltaic effect is the dominant mechanism for a counter-propagating two-beam optical limiting geometry. We find that the contribution to counter-propagating two-beam coupling gain coefficient from the photovoltaic effect is approximately five times greater than that arising from diffusion mechanisms alone.