Nonlinear optical properties of the active medium in intracavity phase conjugation of the radiation of a pulsed electron-beam-controlled discharge CO2 laser. I. Experiments

An experimental investigation was made of phase conjugation in the course of intracavity degenerate four-wave mixing of radiation in the active medium of a pulsed electron-beam-controlled discharge CO₂ laser generating long pulses. An analysis was carried out of the dependences of the energy and temporal characteristics of a phase-conjugated signal on the specific input energy deposited in the electron-beam-controlled discharge, on the Q-factor of the laser cavity, on the composition and pressure of the laser-active mixture, on the angle of interaction and optical delay between the probe and reference waves, on the ratio of the intensities of these two waves, and on the polarisation and spectral composition of laser radiation. The energy reflection coefficient of the phase-conjugated signal increased with increase in the input energy and with reduction in the probe wave intensity. An increase in the proportion of nitrogen and a reduction in the proportion of helium in the laser-active mixture increased the reflection coefficient and gave rise to a specific profile of the phase-conjugated signal with two maxima, attributed to amplitude and phase nonlinearities of the active medium. An increase in the specific input energy and of the cavity Q-factor reduced the response time of the phase-conjugate signal.