Competition between Stokes waves in a phase-conjugating hypersonic mirror based on an oscillator–amplifier system operating under saturation conditions

Numerical calculations are used to show that energy is transferred from a signal to a Stokes reference wave in the case of the incremental gains in a four-wave interaction region and this reduces strongly the reflection coefficient of the signal. The intensity of the Stokes reference wave is found to be always less than the intensity of the Stokes signal. An increase in the degree of the spatial inhomogeneity of the signal wave enhances the signal reflection coefficient. A new factor responsible for the increase in the signal reflection coefficient is found: it is a reduction in the intensity of the Stokes reference wave. The results of these calculations are in good agreement with published experiments.