Optical Phase Conjugation Using Four-Wave Mixing in Laser Diodes Subject to Strong Probe Injection Power

Abstract

Optical phase conjugation through nearly degenerate four-wave mixing (NDFWM) in semiconductor lasers has attracted considerable attention in recent years since being first demonstrated by Nakajima and Frey[ 1 ]. Such interest arises due to the very high conjugate reflectivity of order 30-40dB which can be achieved owing to the amplifying effect of the semiconductor gain medium and cavity enhancement of mixing process. However, most previous experimental and theoretical work has placed emphasis on the weak signal case, where the injection signal acts only as a small perturbation of free-running laser diode. It is only very recently that a theoretical analysis of NDFWM in a semiconductor laser subject to strong probe injection power has been presented[2].