Optical limiting characteristics of Fabry-Perot microresonators at third-order nonlinear absorption and refraction of the intracavity medium

Abstract

Calculating steady-state optical limiting characteristics of nonlinear Fabry-Perot resonators, we noticed that the input-output characteristic shape does not depend on any resonator parameter. The intracavity medium was assumed to have either third-order nonlinear refraction or absorption. In a double logarithmic diagram the input-output characteristic can be divided into two regions, linear and nonlinear, which are both almost straight lines with a relatively short curved section between them. The only dependent variable is the position of that curved section (limiting threshold). Simple relations between resonator parameters, nonlinear coefficients and the limiting threshold, enabling one to easily get nonlinear characteristics of such resonators whithout doing nonlinear calculations, are presented.