A quantitative study of the stimulated Raman effect using an off-axis resonator

The use of an off-axis resonator system to study the generation of first-Stokes radiation in benzene is considered both theoretically and experimentally. The primary advantage of the off-axis system concerns the fact that the resonator is driven by a temporal and spatial average of the exciting laser beam, thereby minimizing light trapping effects. With these trapping effects reduced in relative importance, quantitative measurements of the stimulated Raman effect in self-focusing materials are possible, and the experimental data agrees with the steady-state solution presented here to within the experimental accuracy.