Propagation of a partially coherent laser beam through the inhomogeneous medium of an optical amplifier

The propagation of a partially coherent laser beam through a single-pass optical amplifier is considered in the complex geometric optics approximation. A system of equation is obtained which describes changes in the complex amplitude and complex phase of the coherence function of the laser beam in the inhomogeneous medium of the amplifier. The power and intensity of the amplified radiation are analysed as functions of the coherence radius of the laser beam and the optical strength of a gas lens produced in the amplifier medium due to the spatial inhomogeneity of the energy deposition. It is found that the effect of the gas lens and partial coherence of radiation on the gain depends on the relation between the input beam radius and the amplifier aperture. It is shown that the energy gain increases with increasing the lens strength and improving the beam coherence, whereas the opposite behaviour is inherent in 'narrow' beams.