SPATIAL PATTERNS IN OPTICAL PARAMETRIC OSCILLATORS WITH SPHERICAL MIRRORS - CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM EFFECTS

We investigate the formation of transverse patterns in a doubly resona nt degenerate optical parametric oscillator. Extending previous work, we treat the more realistic case of a spherical mirror cavity with a f inite-sized input pump field. Using numerical simulations in real spac e, we determine the conditions on the cavity geometry, pump size and d etunings for which pattern formation occurs; we find multistability of different types of optical patterns. Below threshold, we analyze the dependence of the quantum image on the width of the input field, in th e near and in the far field. (C) 1998 Optical Society of America.