SELF-ORGANIZATION PHENOMENA IN AN OPTICALLY BISTABLE DEVICE

Optical bistability can be found by introducing a nonlinear medium into an optical resonator. Spatial coupling due to diffraction and inside the medium as well as the limited size of the illumination lead to transversal spatial effects. A theory for Nematic Liquid Crystals as nonlinear medium is developed and some experimental results are presented. Most interesting is the formation of transversal structures, showing properties of a self-organization process.