Phase conjugation under conditions of stimulated scattering of millisecond pulses generated by a free-running laser

A method is proposed for the determination of the nature of the scattering process and of the energy contribution of each type of scattering to a phase-conjugate wave by means of an interferometer with mirrors capable of phase conjugation of the wavefront. Phase conjugation of free-running laser pulses is shown to occur as a result of two competing processes of stimulated Brillouin and stimulated thermal scattering. The results are reported of an experimental determination of the fractions of the energy contributed by each type of scattering to a phase-conjugate wave.