Photorefractive materials combine photoconductive and electro-optic properties: light affects their electrical conductivity; their optical properties (refractive index, etc.) are affected by applied electric fields. The aim of this book is to cover the vast range of phenomena occurring in Photorefractive Materials. For Physicists it is part of the fashionable subject of Nonlinear Optics. Engineers tend to place it as part of optoelectronics promising a variety of new devices. This book summarizes the results of 28 years of research in a manner that would appeal both to the beginner (a graduate student who has just entered the field) and to the expert (who might have done research on some aspect of the subject for a decade or more). It is in three parts. Part I serves as an introduction with emphasis on physical principles and simple mathematical models. Part II is a comprehensive account of all the major advances. Its main merit is the organization of the material accompanied by a detailed list of references. Part III is concerned with the enormous range of potential applications.

This is the first volume of a set of three within the Springer Series in Optical Sciences, and is devoted to photorefractive effects, photorefractive materials, and their applications. Since the publication of our first two Springer books on Photorefractive Materials and Their Applications (Topics in Applied Physics, Vols. 61 and 62) almost 20 years ago, a lot of research has been done in this area. New and often expected effects have been discovered, theoretical models developed, known effects finally explained, and novel applications proposed. We believe that the field has now reached a high level of maturity, even if research continues in all areas mentioned above and with new discoveries arriving quite regularly. We therefore have decided to invite some of the top experts in the field to put together the state of the art in their respective fields. This after we had been encouraged to do so for more than ten years by the publisher, due to the fact that the former volumes were long out of print.

This is the first of two volumes that review, for the first time, all major aspects of photorefractive effects and their applications. Photorefractive effects in electro-optic crystals are based on optically induced space-charge fields which ultimately alter the refractive indices by the electro-optic Pockels effect. The fundamental phenomena leading to photoinduced changes of refractive index, the materials requirements and experimental results on a variety of photorefractive materials are discussed and the most recent theoretical models describing these phenomena are presented. Interest in photorefractive materials has increased in recent years mainly because of their potential for nonlinear optical devices and for optical signals processing applications. Most of these applications are reviewed in the second volume devoted to this topic. The contributions to these two volumes are written by experts on each topic and are intended for scientists and engineers active in the field and for researchers and graduate students entering the field. Over 300 references to original papers on photorefractive and associated phenomena are cited.

This volume is based on lectures and contributed papers presented at the Eleventh Course of the International School of Materials Science and Tech nology that was held in Erice, Sicily, Italy at the Ettore Majorana Center for Scientific Culture during the period 6-17 July 1986. The subject of the course was "Electro-optic and Photorefractive Materials: Applications in Sig nal Processing and Phase Conjugation" . The fields of electro-optics and photorefraction have developed rapidly since the invention of lasers just over twenty-five years ago. The possibil of altering the optical properties of a material by electric fields or by ity optical waves is of great importance for both pure science and for practical applications such as optical signal processing, telecommunications and opti cal display devices. These effects allow us to manipulate (modulate, deflect) and process a given light wave. Modulation, deflection and processing of light waves by means of the electro-optic effect is of fundamental importance in fiber optic telecommuniC1. tions and sensor systems w here the light signals can be processed prior or subsequent to transmission through the fibers. Thin film electro-optic materials with suitable electrode arrays on· the surface of the wave-guiding structures result in a technology often referred to as inte grated optics. In principle, integrated optics devices allow miniaturization and integration of many operations onto a single chip. The photorefractive effect, defined as a photo-induced change of the in dices of refraction, was the other topic treated in this course.

This book highlights recent advances of optical spatial solitons in photorefractive materials ranging broadly from the coupling, modulation instability, effect of pyroelectricity, and the stability of photorefractive solitons, among other topics. Photorefractive solitons have been at the forefront of research because of their formation at low laser powers and unique saturable nonlinearity present in photorefractive materials which supports solitons in (2+1) D. There has been a spurt in research on photorefractive solitons recently, which has contributed to a greater understanding of the theoretical foundation of photorefractive solitons as also of their various interesting and practical applications. The book elucidates the diversity of photorefractive solitons and provides a good resource for students, researchers, and professionals in the area of nonlinear optics. ​

Photorefractive Materials presents an overview of the basic features and properties of photorefractive materials, covering a wide array of related topics. It provides a coherent approach suitable for introductory and advanced students seeking to learn or review the fundamentals, as well as senior researchers who need a reference while investigating more specialized areas.

This is the first volume of a set of three within the Springer Series in Optical Sciences, and is devoted to photorefractive effects, photorefractive materials, and their applications. Since the publication of our first two Springer books on Photorefractive Materials and Their Applications (Topics in Applied Physics, Vols. 61 and 62) almost 20 years ago, a lot of research has been done in this area. New and often expected effects have been discovered, theoretical models developed, known effects finally explained, and novel applications proposed. We believe that the field has now reached a high level of maturity, even if research continues in all areas mentioned above and with new discoveries arriving quite regularly. We therefore have decided to invite some of the top experts in the field to put together the state of the art in their respective fields. This after we had been encouraged to do so for more than ten years by the publisher, due to the fact that the former volumes were long out of print.