Nonlinear Optics

Nonlinear optics is concerned with the propagation of intense beams of light through a material system. nonlinearopticsThe optical properties of the medium can be modified by the intense light beam, leading to new processes not present in a material that responded linearly to an applied optical field. These processes can lead to the modification of the spectral, spatial, or polarization properties of the light beam or the creation of new frequency components. More complete accounts of nonlinear optics including the origin of optical nonlinearities can be found in 1 ; 2 ; 3 ; 4 . Both the Gaussian and MKS system of units are commonly used in nonlinear optics. Thus, we have chosen to express the equations in this chapter in both the Gaussian and MKS systems. Each equation can be interpreted in the MKS system as written or in the Gaussian system by omitting the prefactors (e.g., 1 ∕ 4πε0) that appear in square brackets at the beginning of the expression on the right-hand-side of the equation.