Nonlinear optics

The branch of optics that describes the behaviour of light in nonlinear media, that is, media in which the polarisation P responds nonlinearly to the electric field E of the light.

Nonlinear optics gives rise to a host of optical phenomena:

• Second harmonic generation (SHG)
• Third harmonic generation (THG)
• Parametric frequency mixing and amplification
• Phase conjugation
• Pockel's effect
• Acousto-optics
• Kerr effect (intensity dependent refractive index)
  • Self focusing
  • Self phase modulation (SPM)
• Brillouin scattering
• Raman scattering

(work in progress) - DrBob