Self-pumped four-wave mixing using backward and forward Brillouin scattering

Abstract

Investigations of self-pumped phase conjugation using Brillouin-enhanced four-wave mixing in TiCl4 at 1 μm are presented. We have (1) observed both forward and backward Brillouin scattering into the optical cavity used for self-pumped phase conjugation during a single pump laser pulse and enhanced the forward-scattered component relative to the backward-scattered component by changing the angle of incidence of the pump beam, (2) demonstrated up to 80% coupling of pump radiation into cavity radiation, (3) examined quenching of the radiation in the optical cavity and eliminated both multiple Stokes orders from Brillouin scattering and Raman scattering as possible mechanisms, (4) observed mode beating in the cavity intensity profile coincident with the quenching, and (5) studied ring-resonator geometries, demonstrating both forward and backward scattering, unidirectional oscillation, and bidirectional oscillation leading to a triple-shifted phase conjugate.