Optical bistability in Cr:LiSGaF/sub 6/ and Cr:LiSAF/sub 6/ laser crystals

Summary form only given. An intrinsic optical bistability can find potential applications in optical logic elements and switches for optical computing, telecommunication, etc. The effect can be predicted in many different systems with various physical mechanisms of nonlinearity. The bistability derived as a consequence of modification of the optical Bloch equations after introducing the local field correction terms, was first experimentally observed in Yb/sup 3+/:Cs/sub 3/ Y/sub 2/Br/sub 9/. We theoretically predict and experimentally demonstrate an intrinsic bistability in luminescence and transmission of Cr doped LiSrGaF/sub 6/ (LiSGaF) and LiSrAlF/sub 6/ (LiSAF) crystals, in which the luminescence quantum yield has a strongly nonlinear dependence on temperature T.