Nonlinear intermode interaction in a ferromagnetic optical waveguide

The conditions and parameters of an effective nonlinear intermode interaction caused by the photomagnetization (inverse Faraday effect) in a ferromagnetic planar optical waveguide are determined. Calculated dependences of the power transfer efficiency on the longitudinal coordinate show that the nature and parameters of the process depend strongly on the relationship between the phases, intensities, and polarizations of the two interacting modes at the waveguide entrance. They also depend on the nonlinear phase mismatch and on the total radiation power. Methods of using this nonlinearity to develop polarization-sensitive devices based on thin ferrite–garnet films for purely optical data processing systems are proposed and studied.