Editing Four-wave mixing (section)

{{Short description|Phenomenon in nonlinear optics}}
'''Four-wave mixing''' ('''FWM''') is an [[intermodulation]] phenomenon in [[nonlinear optics]], whereby interactions between two or three [[wavelength]]s produce two or one new wavelengths. It is similar to the [[third-order intercept point]] in electrical systems. Four-wave mixing can be compared to the [[intermodulation distortion]] in standard electrical systems. It is a parametric nonlinear process, in that the energy of the incoming [[photon]]s is [[conservation of energy|conserved]]. FWM is a phase-sensitive process, in that the efficiency of the process is strongly affected by [[Nonlinear optics#Phase matching|phase matching]] conditions.