Abstract

A well-defined ring of anisotropically scattered light is observed when a linearly polarized laser beam is incident upon a birefringent photorefractive crystal such as BaTiO₃, LiNbO₃, and LiTaO₃. An analysis is presented that accurately predicts the cone angle, polarization, and the location of the discontinuities in these rings. Unlike the photovoltaic model proposed recently by others, the analysis presented herein is based on the standard photorefractive theory and is independent of the photovoltaic activity of the crystal. The analysis also illustrates the strict phase matching and electro-optic tensor symmetry constraints that must be satisfied in order to observe beam coupling and normal and anisotropic self-diffraction. Preliminary experimental results are presented for BaTiO₃ and LiNbO₃ and are found to be in excellent agreement with standard photorefractive theory.

© 1986 Optical Society of America

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