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Journal of the Optical Society of America B

Phase conjugation by stimulated photorefractive scattering using a retroreflected seeding beam

Ruth Ann Mullen, Deborah J. Vickers, Linda West, David M. Pepper

Published Sep 1, 1992• 43 citations
Publisher

Abstract

The threshold for self-pumped optical phase conjugation by means of backward stimulated photorefractive scattering has been dramatically lowered by inserting a retroreflecting screen into the path of the beam after the beam leaves a BaTiO3 crystal. Stable reflectivities of as much as −60% and good phase-conjugate fidelity have been demonstrated in a crystal that has too low a gain–length product to exhibit unseeded backward stimulated scattering. Precise control of the threshold for stimulated scattering is demonstrated by adjusting the seed intensity. Reflectivity and fidelity are experimentally characterized at 515 nm as a function of the following parameters: pump and seed intensities, crystal angle with respect to the incident beam direction, crystal interaction length, crystal–lens separation, and aberration strength. Operation at 633, 730–800, and 839 nm is demonstrated also.

DOI
10.1364/josab.9.001726

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Journal of the Optical Society of America B•Mar 1, 1992•19 citations
The threshold for self-pumped optical phase conjugation by means of backward stimulated photorefractive scattering has been dramatically lowered by inserting a retroreflecting screen into the path of the beam after the beam leaves a BaTiO3 crystal. Stable reflectivities of as much as −60% and good phase-conjugate fidelity have been demonstrated in a crystal that has too low a gain–length product to exhibit unseeded backward stimulated scattering. Precise control of the threshold for stimulated scattering is demonstrated by adjusting the seed intensity. Reflectivity and fidelity are experimentally characterized at 515 nm as a function of the following parameters: pump and seed intensities, crystal angle with respect to the incident beam direction, crystal interaction length, crystal–lens separation, and aberration strength. Operation at 633, 730–800, and 839 nm is demonstrated also.
Stationary photorefractive self-pumped phase-conjugation with one four-wave-mixing interaction region, stimulated by the photorefractive amplified backward scattering, is obtained in LiNbO 3 :Fe crystals, in which the strong backward scattered light is gotten by putting a scattering particle on the backface of the sample. Even though its reflectivities are not high (its temporal and stationary reflectivities are 10% and 3%, respectively), due to the low electrooptic coefficients of LiNbO 3 :Fe crystals, our experimental results prove that this mechanism is effective and simple comparing with the "cat" self-pumped phase-conjugator.
Effects of stimulated photorefractive backscattering (SPB) interactions in both stimulated photorefractive backscattering and four-wave mixing (SPB-FWM) and total internal reflection (TIR) self-pumped phase conjugators have been analyzed theoretically. SPB interactions in the four-wave mixing regions are neglected. Calculations show that the operational threshold and the phase conjugation reflectivity of both phase conjugators are very sensitive to the backscattering two-wave mixing gain coefficient of the crystals. From these results the mechanism transition phenomenon of a self-pumped phase conjugator between SPB-FWM and TIR can be explained if the backscattering gain coefficient of the crystal varies with doping concentration or with wavelength.
We identify three separate regimes in the evolution of self-pumped phase conjugation in photorefractive media. These are evident from the time evolution of transmission, omnidirectional scatter, and phase-conjugate reflection intensities measured experimentally. Initially, beam fanning occurs, manifested by depletion of the transmitted light to one-third of its initial value. This is followed by a gradual increase in the omnidirectional scatter intensity caused by spreading of the light paths in the crystal, until almost all the crystal is flooded. Only much later does the phase-conjugate beam appear and grow to half of the input intensity at the expense of both the transmitted and scattered light. The three processes persist for different durations: fanning is appreciably faster than the other two processes. Each regime is characterized by different beam spread within the crystal, which is observed in top-view images. We postulate physical mechanisms to describe the observed phenomena.
We report our observations of optical bistabilities and hysteresis1 in photorefractive passive phase conjugate resonators with BaTiO3, caused by grating erasure effects between two resonators in three different configurations. Bistable oscillations have been observed between two semilinear oscillators, two ring resonators, and also between a ring and a semilinear resonator. In the experimental arrangement used for bistability studies, a single-mode argon ion laser beam (4880 Å) entered the crystal in a face appropriate for self-pumped phase conjugation. However, the orientation is kept in such a way that no self-pumped phase conjugation is observable if none of the resonators is in operation. In this geometry, bistability and hysteresis were observed in the signal intensity of one resonator as the reflectivity of the variable beam reflector in the second resonator was increased and then decreased in a cycle. Bistability was also seen in the signal intensity of a single resonator as a function of the reflectivity of the external mirror.
Stimulated photorefractive phase conjugators often exhibit well-defined curved beam paths that cannot be explained by simple beam fanning. We propose a model of these apparently curved paths as a series of straight-line segments, with beams propagating in both directions along these segments. These line segments spring from the amplification of scattered light between regions of the crystal already containing counterpropagating pump beams. As these line segments form, they create new interaction regions that generate new segments, thereby making the final beam path appear to be curved. Application of our model to a single-interaction-region mutually pumped phase conjugator shows that the threshold coupling strength required for the appearance of these new segments is only slightly higher than the threshold for the phase conjugator itself.