Abstract
In the absence of feedback, stimulated-Brillouin-scattering (SBS) generators typically rely on random acoustic noise to initiate and sustain the stimulated-scattering process. Phase jumps in the Stokes signal are the well-known macroscopic consequence of the noiselike origin of the Stokes seed. Phase jumps are abrupt reversals of the Stokes phase that occur simultaneously with dramatic variations in the Stokes intensity. We report what we believe to be the first time-resolved measurements of phase jumps in the Stokes beam produced by an SBS generator. Our experimental results1 are in excellent agreement with the results of simple theoretical models.3 These experiments also led to the identification of slow phase drifts and distinct frequency shifts in the Stokes beam. Phase jumps, phase drifts, and frequency shifts are properties common to oscillators that develop, without feedback, from noise.
© 1993 Optical Society of America
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