HIGH-REFLECTIVITY, WIDE-BANDWIDTH OPTICAL PHASE CONJUGATION VIA FOUR-WAVE MIXING IN POTASSIUM VAPOR

We report on a high‐reflectivity (up to 670%) wide‐bandwidth (up to 230 MHz) phase‐conjugate mirror formed using backward‐four‐wave mixing with continuous‐wave pump beams in a 2‐mm potassium vapor cell. The reflectivities and bandwidths are significantly larger than have been measured previously, and the bandwidth is ten times greater than is predicted theoretically. The reflectivity‐bandwidth product is more than an order of magnitude improvement over those previously achieved with other continuous‐wave phase‐conjugate systems.