Abstract

A theoretical analysis is presented of spontaneous pattern formation in a system consisting of a photorefractive medium and a feedback mirror. A threshold condition for the pattern formation is derived from a new set of coupling equations with the assumption that reflection gratings are dominant. It is shown that the pattern formation can occur with only energy coupling. The direction of the sideband beams is calculated as a function of the mirror position, and the result is compared with that of an experiment with a KNbO₃ crystal.

© 1996 Optical Society of America

Buildup of spontaneous hexagonal patterns in photorefractive BaTiO₃ with a feedback mirror

Tokuyuki Honda and Hirokazu Matsumoto
Opt. Lett. 20(17) 1755-1757 (1995)

Spontaneous hexagon formation in photorefractive crystal with a single pump wave

P. M. Lushnikov and A. V. Mamaev
Opt. Lett. 24(21) 1511-1513 (1999)

Theory of nonlinear multiple-grating interaction in diffusion-dominated photorefractive media

Henrik C. Pedersen, Peter E. Andersen, Paul M. Petersen, and Per M. Johansen
J. Opt. Soc. Am. B 13(11) 2569-2579 (1996)

Threshold for pattern formation in a medium with a local photorefractive response

A. I. Chernykh, B. I. Sturman, Marı́a Aguilar, and F. Agulló-López
J. Opt. Soc. Am. B 14(7) 1754-1760 (1997)

Spontaneous pattern formation in a thin film of bacteriorhodopsin with mixed absorptive–dispersive nonlinearity

J. Glückstad and M. Saffman
Opt. Lett. 20(6) 551-553 (1995)