Enhanced beam coupling modulation using the polarization properties of photorefractive GaAs

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Abstract
We report observation of a rotation in the polarization of the two photorefractive recording beams in GaAs for a configuration with the internally generated space-charge field along the 〈110〉 crystallographic orientation. This rotation is a result of simultaneous constructive and destructive beam coupling in each beam for the optical electric field components along the two electro-optically induced principal dielectric axes of the crystal. By turning one of the beams on and off, the intensity of the other beam after the crystal and a polarization analyzer can be modulated by as much as 500%. This result is of particular importance for optical information processing applications.