RELAXATION-TIME OF PHASE-CONJUGATE REFLEC TION IN A 4-WAVE INTERACTION OF RADIATION IN THE ACTIVE MEDIUM OF A CO2-LASER

The experimental relaxation time of a degenerate four-wave interaction based no the nonlinearity of saturation of the active media of TEA CO 2 lasers (approximately 0.3 mus) is shown to be an order of magnitude less than the time calculated on the basis of the existing theories. A new mechanism is proposed to account for the relaxation of this inter action in the active media of TEA CO2 lasers. This mechanism postulate s erasure of gratings, formed in the course of the four-wave interacti on, of the population inversion of the active levels of a laser due to a high rate of filling of the upper level by resonant energy transfer from nitrogen molecules.