Optical phase conjugation of picosecond pulses at 106 μm in Sn_2P_2S_6:Te for wavefront correction in high-power Nd-doped amplifier systems

Abstract

We report, for the first time to our knowledge, on picosecondpulse optical phase conjugation using photorefractive Sn(2)P(2)S(6) crystals. For 7.2-ps pulses at 1.06 mum, we have achieved phase-conjugate reflectivities of up to 45% with very fast build-up times, about 15 ms at an intensity of 23 W/cm(2) using Te-doped Sn(2)P(2)S(6). We furthermore demonstrate aberration-free 5 W optical output of 8-ps pulses at 1.06 mum from a side pumped Nd:YVO(4) amplifier using the Sn(2)P(2)S(6)-based phase-conjugate feedback.