Intracavity phase conjugation of the radiation from a pulsed frequency-selective CO laser

The temporal dynamics and efficiency of phase-conjugate reflection in the course of intracavity degenerate four-wave mixing of radiation from a pulsed frequency-selective electron-beam-sustained CO laser was investigated experimentally and theoretically. The energy efficiency of the phase-conjugate reflection in the experiments reached 1.5 — 2.5% for a CO laser emitting as a result of one vibrorotational transition, diminishing on expansion of the emission spectrum of the laser. Comparison of the experimental and calculated data indicates the dominant role of the resonance amplitude phase-conjugation mechanism in the active medium of a CO laser.