Stimulated Brillouin scattering and phase conjugation of hydrogen fluoride laser radiation

Stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) of hydrogen fluoride laser radiation has been demonstrated for the first reported time. A flash-lamp-pumped pulsed chemical laser, operating single-line at 2.91 microm, was used to generate backward-stimulated Brillouin scattering in high-pressure xenon gas with power reflectivities of ~50%. Intentional aberration and subsequent restoration of a high-spatial-quality beam provided evidence of phase conjugation by the SBS process.