shown theoretically that when a running grating and a constant electric field are applied to a
photorefractive medium it is possible for two secondary gratings to grow spontaneously.
These theoretical predictions are subsequently verified experimentally in the crystal
Bi_12SiO_20, and excellent qualitative agreement is obtained. In previous subharmonic
experiments, only grating vectors K/2, K/3, and K/4 were observed. Now, however, a whole …