Abstract
We demonstrate techniques for reducing the noise at the output of a Brillouin amplifier. This is accomplished by nonlinear postprocessing of the amplified signal and noise in a phase-conjugate mirror. For a case in which the signal channel direction is known, the signal-to-noise ratio is enhanced from 1 at the amplifier output to 104 after processing. Without a priori knowledge of the signal channel, an enhancement in the signal-to-noise ratio from 0.8 to 350 is obtained. This method relies on the speckled diverging nature of the noise emitted from a Brillouin amplifer and on the nonlinear reflectivity of stimulated Brillouin backscatter.
© 1992 Optical Society of America
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