Dichroic optical bistability in a nonlinear Fabry–Perot interferometer

It is shown that a new type of optical bistability may occur in a Fabry–Perot resonator containing a nongyrotropic cubic crystal. This instability is due to an anisotropy of the nonlinear resonance absorption in the crystal. The explicit conditions for the establishment of dichroic optical bistability are determined for cases of two-photon absorption and resonance absorption by reorientable impurity centers.