Weak beam control of two-dimensional multicolored transverse arrays in a quadratic nonlinear medium

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  • 28 January 2005
Abstract
We demonstrate the generation and weak beam control of two-dimensional (2D) multicolored transverse arrays in a thick quadratic nonlinear medium pumped by two spatially overlapped and temporally synchronized femtosecond beams. Above relatively low input fundamental pulse intensities ($\sim$ 6.7 GW/cm$^2$), reproducible multiple filaments are induced by small ellipticity of one of input beams, and two-dimensional multicolored transverse arrays are launched as a result of multiple four-wave mixing between the induced multiple filaments and crossly coupled fundamental and second harmonic pulses. By seeding with weak second harmonic pulses, the two-dimensional arrays are suppressed into one-dimensional ones. The weak beam control is independent upon the relative phase of the second harmonic seed. This suggests a simple but robust phase-insensitive all-optical control to switch 2D array of strong beams with a weak seed beam, in contrast with the requisite of a strong beam to control a weak beam in the usual case of all-optical switching. Furthermore, the phase-insensitive control is of practical importance, since it provides an unusual coherent process without any necessities to determine the phase of the signal and match it to an appropriate phase of the control beam as normally required for usual all-optical switches.

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