Comparison of /spl chi//sup (3)/ and cascaded /spl chi//sup (2)/ contributions to the nonlinear index of refraction of a cubic crystal: Influence of optical rectification

Abstract

Summary form only given. Some years ago the potential of increasing the magnitude of /spl chi//sup (3)/ Kerr effect with a combination of cascaded /spl chi//sup (3)/ second order effects (CSOE) mainly due to second harmonic generation (SHG) was discovered. It has recently been shown that the combined processes of optical rectification and linear electro-optical effect lead to a similar phenomenon. Hereafter we evidence in a ZnTe cubic crystal, the temporal behavior and evaluate the amplitudes of both third-order and CSOE contributions to effective nonlinear index of refraction n/sub 2/.