The Effect of Inertial Backscattering in a He–Ne Ring Laser at a Wavelength of 632.8 nm

Abstract

The effect is investigated of backscattering of the diffraction grating produced on the mirror surface by gas discharge UV radiation and by counterpropagating waves of a ring laser. Measurements of the dynamics of complex coupling coefficients as the ring laser slowly approaches the lock-in threshold are presented. It is shown that, when the ring laser is near the lock-in threshold, there is a slight decrease in the dissipative component of complex coupling coefficients and a significant increase in their conservative component. The physical model of these effects is discussed.