Cancellation of specular reflection in the presence of a phase conjugate mirror

Abstract

We present experimental results showing the partial cancellation of the specular reflection off a lossless partially transmitting ordinary plane mirror in the presence of a phase conjugate mirror. This effect was first theoretically predicted by Drummond and Friberg.1 In the experimental situation a single domain photorefractive crystal of barium titanate operating via degenerate four-wave mixing acted as the phase conjugate mirror. It was placed behind a lossless partially transmitting ordinary plane mirror so that an optical resonant activity was created. Collimated light was directed onto the ordinary mirror at non-normal incidence. The intensity of the specular reflection was monitored, the extent of its cancellation for the measured phase conjugate reflectivities agreed well with the proposed theory.2 The experimental results lay marginally above the theoretical curve. The reason for such a systematic error is considered to lie with the fidelity of the phase conjugate generated.