We identify an aerosol of dielectric particles as a broadband, low-power nonlinear-optics medium. We demonstrate theoretically that a room-temperature volume of 5-µm-radius glass spheres will exhibit a third-order susceptibility in the visible equal to ~10ƒ esu, where ƒ is the volumetric packing fraction of the spheres. The response of the system is broadband throughout the visible, and the nonlinear-optic gain coefficient is shown to exceed the extinction coefficient because of scattering at pump-power levels on the order of 0.3 W/cm². Two techniques for levitation of the aerosol are quantitatively evaluated.

© 1980 Optical Society of America

You do not have subscription access to this journal. Citation lists with outbound citation links are available to subscribers only. You may subscribe either as an OSA member, or as an authorized user of your institution.

Contact your librarian or system administrator
or
Log in to access OSA Member Subscription

You do not have subscription access to this journal. Cited by links are available to subscribers only. You may subscribe either as an OSA member, or as an authorized user of your institution.

Contact your librarian or system administrator
or
Log in to access OSA Member Subscription

You do not have subscription access to this journal. Article level metrics are available to subscribers only. You may subscribe either as an OSA member, or as an authorized user of your institution.

Contact your librarian or system administrator
or
Log in to access OSA Member Subscription