Investigation on the output energy characteristic of optical limiting based on stimulated Brillouin scattering

Stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) featuring sub-nanosecond response time takes place at a high power threshold, which enables its application at a high power density. When the intensity of input light excesses the SBS threshold, strong SBS process takes place through SBS medium, leading to a quick energy transfer from pump to the Stokes and thereby an optical limiting characteristic in the output energy. In this paper, the correlation between SBS output energy and input power density is numerically simulated and validated in the Nd: YAG Q-switch laser system. The results indicate that not only the output energy exhibits an optical limiting characteristic, but also the clamped value of output energy can be controlled by changing the medium or the focal length.