The anisotropic Kerr nonlinear refractive index of the beta-barium borate (\beta-BaB2O4) nonlinear crystal

TL;DR

This paper investigates the anisotropic Kerr nonlinear response of beta-barium borate (BBO) crystals, correcting previous experimental data and revealing a larger tensor component influencing ultrafast cascading processes.

Contribution

It provides a detailed analysis and correction of existing data on the Kerr tensor components in BBO, highlighting a significantly larger self-phase modulation contribution than previously assumed.

Findings

The Kerr tensor component for self-phase modulation is larger than previously reported.

Corrected experimental data alters understanding of nonlinear interactions in BBO.

Implications for ultrafast cascading experiments are significant.

Abstract

We study the anisotropic nature of the Kerr nonlinear response in a beta-barium borate (\beta-BaB2O4, BBO) nonlinear crystal. The focus is on determining the relevant $\chi^{(3)}$ cubic tensor components that affect interaction of type I cascaded second-harmonic generation. Various experiments in the literature are analyzed and we correct the data from some of the experiments for contributions from cascading as well as for updated material parameters. We find that the Kerr nonlinear tensor component responsible for self-phase modulation in cascading is considerably larger than what has been used to date. We evaluate the impact of using such a cubic anisotropic response in ultrafast cascading experiments.