Differential Gain and Bistability Using a Sodium-Filled Fabry-Perot Interferometer

Abstract

Differential gain and large hysteresis have been seen in the transmission of a Fabry-Perot interferometer containing Na vapor irradiated by light from a cw dye laser. Non-linear dispersion, neglected in earlier work, dominates over nonlinear absorption in Na. The apparatus uses only optical inputs and outputs. Similar apparatus may be useful as an optical amplifier, memory element, clipper, and limiter.