Abstract
We have observed the spontaneous formation of transverse spatial patterns in a thin film of bacteriorhodopsin with a feedback mirror. Bacteriorhodopsin has a mixed absorptive–dispersive nonlinearity at the wavelength used in the experiments (633 nm). Threshold values of the incident intensity for observation of pattern formation are found from a linear stability analysis of a model that describes bacteriorhodopsin as a sluggish saturable nonlinear medium with a complex Kerr coefficient. The calculated threshold intensity is in good agreement with the experimental observations, and the patterns are predicted to be frequency offset from the pump radiation.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Journal | Optics Letters |
| Volume | 20 |
| Issue number | 6 |
| Pages (from-to) | 551-553 |
| ISSN | 0146-9592 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 1995 |