Repulsion and total reflection with mismatched three-wave interaction of noncollinearoptical beams in quadratic media

摘要

The phenomenon of the total reflection of a weak signal beam from a high-power reference beam due to noncollinear mismatched parametric interaction in a quadratic medium is demonstrated. In a planar geometry the conditions of the signal beam reflection from the optical inhomogeneity induced by the reference beam are found. The analytical expression for the critical value of the signal beam tilt is obtained, and it is shown that total reflection occurs if the initial tilt is less than the critical value. The influence of the walk-off and the reference beam focusing on interaction dynamics are discussed. It is shown that in a bulk medium the beam reflection turns into scattering by an induced inhomogeneity. If reflection conditions are fulfilled, the cylindrical reference beam acts as a convex mirror and lunate distortions of the reflected beam profile occur.