Electromagnetic-resonance-induced optical response of a thin nonlinear dielectric film

We show that the optical response of a nonlinear dielectric film may exhibit optical bistability even in the thin-film limit. Using a rigorous numerical treatment, we also show that the resonant excitation of nonlinear guided modes propagating along the film leads to switching intensities 10⁴ times lower than those obtained with use of the resonances associated with the Airy function.