Symmetry breaking in optical dynamics of two bistable thin films

A theoretical investigation is reported of the interaction of light with a system of two films which contain two-level centres and whose thickness is less than the incident radiation wavelength. It is shown that when light of the same intensity is incident from both sides of the films, symmetry-breaking bifurcation is possible, i.e. the transmitted fields are different for the opposite directions. The relationship between symmetry-breaking bifurcation and optical bistability is determined. If the distance between the films represents an odd number of the optical half-wavelengths symmetry breaking occurs at a lower value of the parameter representing the interaction nonlinearity than that corresponding to the onset of bistability. The opposite is true when an even number of half-wavelengths can be fitted between the films. The supression of symmetry-breaking bifurcation is illustrated for various intensities of the incident optical field.