Intermittent Bursting and an Intrinsic Feedback-Like Mechanism in a Nonlinear Electro-Optic Field Sensor

We have measured and analyzed the temporal behavior of the output of electro-optic (EO) field sensors, made of LiNbO 3 single crystals. While there is no apparent feedback-loop circuit involved in the sensor system, a very strong temporal instability appears in the EO output of the sensor. The temporal instability exhibits an intermittent bursting pattern, which is similar in nature to the results obtained by Grebogi et al (Phys. Rev A 36, 5365, 1987) from numerical simulations using the Ikeda map. This intermittent bursting in our experiment is due to the interplay between the external fields and the screening fields, and stems from strong nonlinear photorefractive effects. These effects establish an intrinsic feedback-like mechanism in the sensor system.