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IEEE Journal of Quantum Electronics

Laser beam combining in potassium vapor

Mark T. Gruneisen, Kenneth R. MacDonald, Alexander L. Gaeta, Robert W. Boyd, Donald J. Harter

Published Jan 1, 1991• 4 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Energy transfer between two laser beams of comparable intensity due to their nonlinear interactions in an atomic vapor was investigated. Strong coupling occurs due to stimulated Rayleigh scattering when the frequencies of the two waves differ by the inverse of the excited-state lifetime. The energy transfer between two nearly equal energy pulses from an alexandrite laser tuned near the 4/sup 2/S/sub 1/2/ to 4/sup 2/P/sub 3/2/ transition of potassium vapor was measured. It was found that as much as 85% of the total incident energy was contained in one of the output beams.>

DOI
10.1109/3.73550

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We show that it is possible to transfer energy efficiently between two laser beams of comparable intensity by means of the near-resonant nonlinear response of an atomic vapor. The coupling is due to stimulated Rayleigh scattering and occurs when the frequency difference between the two beams is approximately the inverse of lifetime of the excited atomic state. We have measured the coupling between two beams from an Alexandrite laser tuned near the ${4}^{2}$${S}_{1/2}$\ensuremath{\rightarrow}${4}^{2}$${P}_{3/2}$ potassium transition and found that one of the transmitted beams can contain up to 85% of the total incident energy.

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Abstract\nWe investigate the emissions of atomic potassium excited by two photons near the 4S1/2-6S1/2 transition. Radiation near the 6S1/2-4P3/2, 1/2 and 4P3/2, 1/2-4S1/2 transitions are studied for the unidirectional and the bidirectional cases respectively. It is shown that the total output intensity increases considerably for the bidirectional propagation. This is attributed to the effective increase of the Doppler free excitation and the cancellation of the quantum interference effect that is associated with the multiple paths of excitation of certain states. Keywords. Counter-propagating beams, amplified spontaneous emission (ASE), stimulated hyper Raman scattering (SHRS), parametric four-wave mixing (PFWM).

Journal of Physics B Atomic Molecular and Optical Physics•Feb 2, 2010•6 citations
Energy transfer between two laser beams of comparable intensity due to their nonlinear interactions in an atomic vapor was investigated. Strong coupling occurs due to stimulated Rayleigh scattering when the frequencies of the two waves differ by the inverse of the excited-state lifetime. The energy transfer between two nearly equal energy pulses from an alexandrite laser tuned near the 4/sup 2/S/sub 1/2/ to 4/sup 2/P/sub 3/2/ transition of potassium vapor was measured. It was found that as much as 85% of the total incident energy was contained in one of the output beams.>
We show that it is possible to transfer energy efficiently between two laser beams of comparable intensity by means of the near-resonant nonlinear response of an atomic vapor. The coupling is due to stimulated Rayleigh scattering and occurs when the frequency difference between the two beams is approximately the inverse of lifetime of the excited atomic state. We have measured the coupling between two beams from an Alexandrite laser tuned near the 42{4}^{2}42S1/2{S}_{1/2}S1/2​\ensuremath{\rightarrow}42{4}^{2}42P3/2{P}_{3/2}P3/2​ potassium transition and found that one of the transmitted beams can contain up to 85% of the total incident energy.
When an atomic vapor interacts with an intense nearly resonant laser field, the ac Stark effect causes a profound modification of the weak-field absorption spectrum. Two of the induced spectral features can lead to amplification of a weak probe wave. We have previously measured in atomic sodium vapor high probe-wave gain (G = 38) due to the three-photon effect and a somewhat lower gain (G = 4) when the probe wave is detuned from the pump laser frequency by the inverse of the atomic response time.1 We present the results of an experimental and theoretical study of the energy coupling between two intense laser fields of comparable intensity through their interaction with an atomic vapor. In our experiments, a tunable alexandrite laser provides microsecond laser pulses of the required intensity that are nearly resonant with the 4s → 4p transition in potassium. We observed large energy transfer (50%) between the two waves at the nearly degenerate resonance and measured the intensity dependence of the coupling efficiency. Theoretical modeling of the interaction is based on a continued-fraction solution of the density-matrix equations of motion.
A model of energy transfer by nearly degenerate two-beam coupling in media exhibiting two-photon and excited state absorption is presented and discussed. The two beams include an incident laser, which has a nonlinear time dependent phase, and an elastically backscattered wave derived from the incident laser. Superposition of these two waves creates an index modulation, arising from a spatially modulated, two-photon-created excited-state population, which couples the forward and backward propagating waves. Reflectance of the stimulated wave and transmittance of the incident laser are computed, including the effects of two-photon absorption andexcited state absorption as well as energy transfer between the two beams, and the relevance of the results to experimental measurements is discussed. The backscattered wave has a frequency that is unshifted with respect to that of the incident laser, and the small signal gain is proportional to the square of the incident laser intensity. The different effects due tomultimode and chirped waves are also discussed.
Two simultaneous laser pulses incident on a cell of potassium vapor at 350°C generate an intense (1-kW) beam of violet light at about 4000 Å. The incident pulses are a 2-MW ruby beam and a 300-kW ruby-generated Stokes beam nearly resonant with the potassium 4P3/2- 4S1/2transition. A simplified theory is presented which treats the problem as a four-wave parametric interaction, and accounts for such experimental details as the doublet stucture of the violet light and the fact that the components of the doublet have different intensities.
There are several nonlinear optical processes that can lead to instabilities in a laser beam as it propagates through a nonlinear optical medium. Self focusing effects, for instance, can lead to the growth of new spatial frequency components in a laser beam. A laser beam can also be unstable to the growth of new spectral components. Stimulated Raman scattering is a well-known example of a process that can lead to this sort of instability. In this paper, we present the results of a series of experiments on the somewhat different instabilities that occur for the case of the propagation of a laser beam through an atomic vapor. We find that these instabilities become particularly pronounced when the frequency of the incident laser is near to that of a one- or two-photon resonance of the atom. In either case, we find that the laser beam is unstable to the growth of new frequency components, and that in general these new frequencies are not emitted collinearly with the incident laser. These instabilities are important because they place a limit on the laser intensity that can be used to drive nonlinear optical processes.
Abstract\nWe investigate the emissions of atomic potassium excited by two photons near the 4S1/2-6S1/2 transition. Radiation near the 6S1/2-4P3/2, 1/2 and 4P3/2, 1/2-4S1/2 transitions are studied for the unidirectional and the bidirectional cases respectively. It is shown that the total output intensity increases considerably for the bidirectional propagation. This is attributed to the effective increase of the Doppler free excitation and the cancellation of the quantum interference effect that is associated with the multiple paths of excitation of certain states. Keywords. Counter-propagating beams, amplified spontaneous emission (ASE), stimulated hyper Raman scattering (SHRS), parametric four-wave mixing (PFWM).