Abstract
Phase-conjugated waves (PCW), via degenerate four-wave mixing (DFWM) with picosecond laser pulses having a FWHM of 80 ps have been obtained in sodium vapour on both sides of theD 2(32 S 1/2→32 P 3/2) transition at 589 nm. The maximum reflectivity of the PCW signals was 60%. The reflectivity of the PCW has been measured as a function of the temperature, the detuning and the pump and probe intensities. Because of the very strong nonlinear behaviour of theD 2 transition the appearance of the PCW is accompanied by strong self-focusing and defocusing of the beams, which give a rather complicated line-shape of the detuning curve of the PCW. By varying the delay between the beams, the lifetime of the transient volume grating has been, measured to be 7.4 ns. The results are in qualitative agreement with the theoretical model of Abrams and Lind.
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Cefalas, A.C., Mikropoulos, T., Simon, P. et al. Picosecond phase-conjugation by degenerate four-wave mixing in sodium vapour. Appl. Phys. B 46, 363–367 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00686460
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00686460