NONDEGENERATE 4-WAVE-MIXING IN A BIREFRINGENT OPTICAL-FIBER PUMPED BYA DYE-LASER

An efficient nondegenerate four-wave-mixing process in a highly birefr ingent optical fiber pumped bg a dye laser is reported. The output bea m from a dye laser (at similar to 610 nm) was found to mix with the ac companying superfluorescent light (from 575 to 600 nm) in a birefringe nt fiber to generate a distinct frequency-shifted beam, which could be Stokes or anti-Stokes radiation, depending on which mode of the fiber was excited. The frequency shift was comparable with that observed in the well-known pump-divided degenerate process, as confirmed by the t heory. (C) 1997 Optical Society of America.