2-DIMENSIONAL DEGENERATE 2-WAVE MIXING IN A NONLINEAR MEDIUM

An interaction is considered between two coherent waves of different intensities in a thin layer of a transparent nonlinear medium. It is shown that this mixing makes it possible to amplify the weaker wave retaining its wavefront. The amplification has been demonstrated experimentally of a prescribed spherical CO2 laser radiation wave by a high-power spherical wave with a different curvature radius in a thin layer of the SF6 gas. Application is discussed of the mentioned phenomenon in the problems of wavefront correction and amplification of the phase image intensity.