Abstract

We have carried out an experiment to study the spatial correlation of the Stokes pulses in transient stimulated Raman scattering. The spatial pattern of Stokes pulses is known to fluctuate from shot to shot due to the buildup of the pulses from quantum noise. We have measured a series of spatial profiles of the Stokes intensity for different Fresnel numbers and Raman gains. A correlation area of the Stokes pulses is obtained by calculating the autocorrelation function of an ensemble of the intensity profiles for each set of parameters. The measured results are compared to existing theories.¹

© 1988 Optical Society of America