Interference effects in second-harmonic generation within an optical cavity

Abstract

An experiment is described that investigates certain interference effects for second-harmonic generation within a resonant cavity. By employing a noncollinear geometry, the phases of two fundamental beams from a frequency-stabilized dye laser can be controlled unrestricted by the boundary conditions imposed in an optical cavity containing a KDP crystal and resonant at the second harmonic. The fundamental beams are either traveling or standing waves and generate either one or two coherent sources of ultraviolet radiation within the cavity. The experiment demonstrates explicitly the dependence of second-harmonic phase on the fundamental phases and the dependence of coupling efficiency on the overlap of the harmonic polarization wave with the cavity-mode function. The measurements agree well with a simple theory.