DYNAMICS AND STABILITY OF A LASER SYSTEM WITH 2ND-ORDER NONLINEARITY

We use a multimode rate-equation model to investigate the stability of a laser system with second-order nonlinearity and compare the results with the literature on intracavity frequency-doubled lasers. The emph asis is on the Hopf bifurcation between the asymptotically stable stat e and the stable oscillation that occurs with variation of the convers ion efficiency from the fundamental frequencies to their sum. This bif urcation results in two simple expressions that describe the stability curve, depending on material and cavity parameters. We also report on an experimental confirmation of the predicted temporal behavior of su m-frequency generation. (C) 1997 Optical Society of America.