Special Issue: Nonlinear Optics
DOI: 10.1063/1.881429
Before the advent of lasers, transparent optical materials were assumed to be essentially passive, unaffected by light traveling through them. The high powers of laser beams made it possible for the first time to observe that the presence of light can indeed affect the medium. Intense light can, for example, change the refractive index or absorption of an optical material.
More about the Authors
Elsa Garmire. University of Southern California.