Competition between coherent and incoherent nonlinear optical processes

Abstract

Competition has been observed between amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) and four-wave mixing (FWM). Previously, competition between an incoherent and coherent process was observed in the form of suppression of multiphoton ionization by third harmonic generation.1,2 In our experiment, an input laser was tuned precisely to the 3s → 3d two-photon allowed transition in atomic sodium vapor and the emission was observed in both the forward and backward directions. In these conditions, either FWM or ASE can occur. Ignoring the possibility of competition between these two processes, the calculated gain for ASE is much larger than that for FWM. However, we have observed experimentally that FWM and not ASE occur. To determine that it is the presence of efficient FWM that suppresses ASE, we have excited the atomic vapor instead with counterpropagating pump waves of different frequency. In this case, FWM, being a phase-matched process, cannot occur and strong ASE is observed. The nature of this competition is explained by solving the coupled Maxwell and density matrix equations for a three-level system. It is found that the suppression is due to the destructive interference between two different pathways of excitation of the 3d level which results in trapping of the population in the ground state.