OBSERVATION OF BISTABILITY AND DELAYED BIFURCATION IN A TRIPLY RESONANT OPTICAL PARAMETRIC OSCILLATOR

We have experimentally studied the various dynamical regimes appearing in an optical parametric oscillator that is simultaneously resonant f or the pump, the signal, and the idler modes, and we have observed bis tability and instability. When the pump intensity is swept through the static threshold value in the monostable region, we observe that the oscillation is delayed by a time interval that is much larger than the characteristic evolution times of the system. The measurements are in good agreement with the theoretical predictions.