Abstract
The time dependence of switching from total internal reflection to the transmission mode of a cw step turned-onlaser is analyzed. The nonlinear thin film is bounded by linear dielectric media and possesses an intensitydependentrefractive index. Our theory accounts for the intense reflection and feedback interferences from the twointerfaces at the total-internal-reflection state and for the nonlinear medium's finite response time. We haveexplicitly evaluated the dependence of turn-on time on various optical and geometrical factors. The theory can begeneralized to describe pulsed lasers and various forms of intensity-dependent refractive-index changes. Ourtheoretical results are important for constructing practical total-internal-reflection switching devices.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 884-888 |
Number of pages | 5 |
Journal | Journal of the Optical Society of America B: Optical Physics |
Volume | 6 |
Issue number | 5 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - May 1989 |
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Statistical and Nonlinear Physics
- Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics