Optical limitation in resonant Faraday media.

Optical limitation in resonant Faraday media sandwiched between crossed polarizers is analyzed both theoretically and experimentally. In this technique resonant Faraday rotation permits a net transmission at low intensity levels, whereas the setup transmission is quenched at higher intensities when the active transition is completely saturated. This technique offers many advantages, such as a very low fluence threshold (~12 nJ/cm(2) in cesium vapor), a high intensity range (more than 4 orders of magnitude for polarizer losses of 10(-5)), and quasi invulnerability to optical damage, which make this technique attractive for the protection of fixed-wavelength operated detectors.