A tunable self-pumped phase-conjugate laser using Ti : sapphire slab amplifiers

We present the first experimental demonstration of a compact self-pumped ph ase-conjugate laser using transversely laser-pumped Ti3+:sapphire slab ampl ifiers as the gain media. The tunable system produces TEM00 output in a sin gle longitudinal mode, exhibits greater than 300 times phase-conjugate ener gy reflectivity and a low input energy threshold of similar to 10 mu J. By the addition of a partial reflector a self-starting adaptive laser is const ructed that operates with a narrowband output and its phase-conjugate natur e is demonstrated by correction of intracavity phase distortions. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.