Phase-modulation effects in self-diffraction with two pump beams incident on a nonlinear medium were studied theoretically and experimentally. Based on a two-level model and considering the influence of the phase modulation on the phase matching, expressions describing the first-order and second-order scattered intensities were derived. The influences of phase modulation on the pump-intensity dependence and the sample-concentration dependence of the scattered intensities were discussed via numerical calculations. Experiments were performed with tetrahydrofuran solution of 1,4-diethinyl benzene to demonstrate the theoretical results. Some interesting results predicted by the theory, such as the fact that the scattered intensities of the sample with lower concentration can be larger than that with higher concentration at suitable high intensity of the pump, have been observed. © 1996 The American Physical Society.

• Received 14 March 1996

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.54.1702