Interaction-induced processes are studied using the third-order nonlinear p
olarization created in polarization-dependent four-wave-mixing experiments
(FWM) on a ZnSe single quantum well. We discuss their influence by a compar
ison of the experimental FWM with calculations based on extended optical Bl
och equations including local-field effects, excitation-induced dephasing,
and biexciton formation. The investigations show that, for copolarized inpu
t fields, excitation-induced dephasing is the dominant FWM mechanism, follo
wed by the conventional density-grating FWM process, biexcitonic contributi
ons, and local-field effects. For cross-linear polarized input fields the e
xcitation-induced dephasing mechanism is canceled so that the conventional
density-grating FWM process and biexcitonic contributions are dominating. [
S0163-1829(99)05428-4].