nonlinear optics

Structure of KTP crystal, viewed down b axis, used in second harmonic generation.

Nonlinear optics (NLO) is a branch of optics that studies the case when optical properties of matter depend on the intensity of the input light. Nonlinear phenomena become relevant only when the input light is very intense. Typically, in order to observe nonlinear phenomena, an intensity of the electromagnetic field of light larger than 10 V/m (and thus comparable to the atomic electric field of ~10 V/m) is required. In this case, the polarization density P responds non-linearly to the electric field E of light. In order to obtain an electromagnetic field that is sufficiently intense, laser sources must be used. In nonlinear optics, the superposition principle no longer holds, and the polarization of the material is no longer linear in the electric field intensity. Instead, in the perturbative limit, it can be expressed by a polynomial sum of order n.