On-resonant phase-conjugate reflection and amplification at 106 μm in inverted CO_2

Abstract

We have obtained phase-conjugate reflection and amplification with an effective reflectivity exceeding unity by redirecting the output of a TEA CO(2)-laser oscillator into its own gain medium. The intense counterpropagating waves within the laser were coupled through the saturated medium to provide the nonlinearity in a process analogous to degenerate four-wave mixing.