Transient self-diffraction of laser beams in an absorbing liquid

Theoretical and experimental investigations were made of the transient self-diffraction of neodymium laser radiation in an absorbing liquid. Calculations carried out without assuming a constant pump field showed good agreement with the experimental results. The high energy efficiency of the conversion process and the virtual absence of distortion effects in the liquid suggests that this process may be used to compensate for laser radiation wavefront deformations. The possibility of increasing the axial brightness was demonstrated in a model experiment by introducing appreciable phase distortions into a strong beam.