Optical hysteresis and bistability in phase conjugation by degenerate six-photon mixing

Abstract

The exact solution of the nonlinear phase-conjugation equations in the case of fifth-order nonlinearity is presented. The theoretical dependence of the backward-wave intensity on that of the interacting waves with Gaussian time shape exhibit well-pronounced hysteresis that is in agreement with experimental results performed on CdS crystals (nanosecond laser pulses). The physical nature of the phenomenon is discussed using the concept of scattering diagrams in terms of dynamic holography.