Raman Beam Cleanup in Silicon in the Mid-Infrared

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that stimulated Raman scattering in silicon can improve beam quality, producing a near-diffraction-limited Stokes beam from an aberrated pump, indicating potential for laser beam cleanup in the mid-infrared.

Contribution

First experimental evidence of Raman beam cleanup in silicon in the mid-infrared wavelength range.

Findings

Near-diffraction-limited Stokes beam achieved

Beam cleanup occurs during stimulated Raman scattering

Potential for improved laser beam quality in mid-IR applications

Abstract

We report evidence of beam cleanup during stimulated Raman scattering in silicon. An amplified near-diffraction-limited Stokes beam is obtained from a severely aberrated pump beam.