Abstract

Stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) is a widely used method for laser parameter manipulation, such as frequency shifting,¹ pulse compression,² and beam combination.³ The number of applications of SRS radiation is closely connected to the stability of SRS characteristics. Quantum fluctuations on the microscopic level have a great effect on the SRS pulse energy and intensity, both in linear and nonlinear regimes.^4,5 As a result, large-scale Stokes energy fluctuations corresponding to exponential distributions with a standard deviation equal to the average Stokes energy were observed in the linear regime.⁴ In the nonlinear regime quantum noise causes spontaneously generated intensity spikes in the depleted pump pulse and correspondingly deep valleys in the Stokes pulse.⁶ Both these effects decrease the stability of SRS characteristics and can narrow the application range of SRS devices.

© 1993 Optical Society of America