Distortion correcting holographic resonators

High phase conjugate reflectivities (R > 10,000%) have been achieved through degenerate four-wave mixing in a cw diode-side-pumped Nd:YVO4 amplifier and the interactions have been successfully modelled. This four-wave mixing geometry has subsequently been used in the design of a phase-conjugate resonator operating with a single-longitudinal mode TEMoo near-diffraction limited output of >7W, which is capable of correcting for severe intra-cavity phase distortions.