Self-pumped phase conjugation in microspheres.
When a microscopic sphere is illuminated by a laser beam, interference fringes inside the sphere lead through the Kerr effect to a holographic grating. This grating is capable of phase conjugation, which is particularly strong when optical resonance takes place. According to numerical simulation, based on the Green function method, phase-conjugation reflectivity R = 0.5 can be achieved in a single silica sphere of approximately 9-microm diameter with realistic laser power. Such spheres can be aligned together to become a phase-conjugation mirror of large area and high reflectivity.
Zheng
Xue-Heng
XH
Department of Pure and Applied Physics, The Queen's University of Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN, Northern Ireland, UK. xhz@qub.ac.uk