Stimulated Brillouin Scattering

Stimulated Brillouin Scattering (SBS) is the most important example of a stimulated scattering process; light scattering which occurs when the intensity of the light field itself affects the propagating medium. A phenomenon which has been known of for some 35 years in solid state laser research, it has recently become relevant in the optical fibre industry, due to the increasing intensity required in optical fibre cores (and their long interaction lengths). SBS is one of the major limiting factors on the amount of power that can be transmitted via an optical fibre.This book will describe the underlying physics of SBS, much of which will be applicable to other fields of research, including, to some extent, plasma physics. Reference to experimental details will be given throughout. Later chapters investigate more advanced concepts, and will feature to a large extent the problems faced by researchers using optical fibres.