Abstract

We present experimental results showing the partial cancellation of the specular reflection off a lossless partially transmitting ordinary plane mirror in the presence of a phase conjugate mirror. This effect was first theoretically predicted by Drummond and Friberg.¹ In the experimental situation a single domain photorefractive crystal of barium titanate operating via degenerate four-wave mixing acted as the phase conjugate mirror. It was placed behind a lossless partially transmitting ordinary plane mirror so that an optical resonant activity was created. Collimated light was directed onto the ordinary mirror at non-normal incidence. The intensity of the specular reflection was monitored, the extent of its cancellation for the measured phase conjugate reflectivities agreed well with the proposed theory.² The experimental results lay marginally above the theoretical curve. The reason for such a systematic error is considered to lie with the fidelity of the phase conjugate generated.

© 1986 Optical Society of America