Open AccessOptical amplification of Airy beams by photorefractive two-wave mixing
Author(s) -
Yang Xu,
Meirong Wang,
Cibo Lou,
Peng Zhang
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
optics express
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.394
H-Index - 271
ISSN - 1094-4087
DOI - 10.1364/oe.26.007281
Subject(s) - optics , photorefractive effect , physics , airy beam , electric field , beam (structure) , mixing (physics) , light beam , nonlinear optics , four wave mixing , diffusion , signal beam , laser , quantum mechanics
We propose and demonstrate nonlinear amplifications of self-accelerating Airy beams by two-wave mixing in photorefractive crystals both numerically and experimentally. By employing a broad Gaussian beam as the pump beam, we show that weak signal Airy beams can be significantly amplified under both diffusion and drift mechanisms. It is revealed that not only higher optical gains but also faster response time can be achieved in the presence of an external electric field, where the drift mechanism dominates. We verify that the self-accelerating and self-healing characteristics of the Airy beams are well preserved during the nonlinear amplification.