Electrooptical applications Pockels effect

The applied voltage in effect changes the linear susceptibility and thus the refractive index of the material. This effect, known as the linear electrooptic (LEO) or Pockels effect, modulates light as a function of applied voltage. At the atomic level, the applied voltage is anisotropically distorting the electron density within the material. Thus, application of a voltage to the material causes the optical beam to "see" a different... 

Combination with Static Fieids. A common technique, useful for optoelectronic devices, is to combine a monochromatic optical field with a DC or quasistatic field. This combination can lead to refractive index and absorption changes (linear or quadratic electrooptic effects and electroabsorption), or to electric-field induced second-harmonic generation (EFISH or DC-SHG, 2 > = > - - third-order process. In EFISH, the DC field orients the molecular dipole moments to enable or enhance the second-harmonic response of the material to the applied laser frequency. The combination of a DC field component with a single optical field is referred to as the linear electrooptic (Pockels) effect co = co + 0), or the quadratic electrooptic (Kerr) effect ( > = > - - 0 -I- 0). These electrooptic effects are discussed extensively in the article Electrooptical Applications (qv). EFISH is... 

Because of the extensive overlap with electro-optics and nonlinear optics, the reader is referred to separate articles on these topics in this encyclopedia. See ElectroopticAL Applications for a discussion of the changes in the optical response of polymers dne to an applied AC or DC electric field from the so-called Pockels or Kerr effects. Also see, for an overview. Nonlinear Optical Properties. 

Some of the relevant applications of nonlinear optics are currently used in laser technology and fiber communications, such as optical frequency conversion, optical parametric oscillation and amplification, the linear electrooptic effect (Pockels... 

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