Quasi-phase-matched second-harmonic generation by backward propagating interaction

Both static and dynamical analyses of quasi-phase-matched second-harmonic generation by backward propagating interaction, where the second-harmonic wave is generated in reflection, are presented. It is shown that bistability appears in the generated second-harmonic power if the amount of phase mismatch is suitably chosen. The bistability also appears in the output fundamental wave, since the cascaded second-order nonlinear process gives rise to the effective self-modulation of the fundamental wave, which can be applied to all-optical signal processing. The output second-harmonic and fundamental powers can be switched between two bistable states by controlling the intensity or phase of the input fundamental wave