A PHASE CONJUGATE Nd:YAG LASER WITH BEAM STEERING

We analyse the competitive effects which alter the stability of SBS phase conjugate mirrors when the laser operates at repetition rates between 10 and 30 Hz. Satisfactory results are obtained with nitrogen gas cell at 180 Atm. We also propose and experimentally demonstrate a SBS phase-conjugate Nd:YAG laser source with a beam steering function. The laser, designed as an oscillator-amplifier configuration, incorporates a TeO2 acousto-optic deflector on the low energy beam. The high energy beam (100–185 mJ) is thus deflected over 2.7° and 40 resolved beam directions are obtained with 5 µs access time.