Observation of laser formation inside a laser cavity containing a phase conjugate mirror

Frank F. Wu

doi:10.1117/12.906781

15 February 2012 Observation of laser formation inside a laser cavity containing a phase conjugate mirror

Frank F. Wu

Proceedings Volume 8235, Solid State Lasers XXI: Technology and Devices; 823525 (2012) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.906781
Event: SPIE LASE, 2012, San Francisco, California, United States

Abstract

Adaptive optics (AO) systems are used to compensate atmospheric perturbations on a propagating laser beam. However, AO needs a beacon to obtain the phase information. This paper presents a possible formation of beacon in target-in-theloop (TIL) geometry which is analog to a laser cavity. The TIL laser cavity is formed with a high reflectivity mirror on one end and an optical phase conjugate mirror as the second mirror. The TIL laser is initialized by a single frequency 10 ns Q-switched laser pulse. This is very similar to how an injection seeding or regenerative amplifier scheme starts a laser oscillation. With a cavity length of around 11 meters and an initial laser pulse of 10 ns, we have been able to isolate laser field images related to each round-trip pulse. Furthermore, by replacing the first mirror with a rough-surface target to simulate an uncooperative target and adding phase distortion elements to simulate atmospheric effects, we can observe the image status under such conditions.

Citation Download Citation

Frank F. Wu "Observation of laser formation inside a laser cavity containing a phase conjugate mirror", Proc. SPIE 8235, Solid State Lasers XXI: Technology and Devices, 823525 (15 February 2012); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.906781

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