Investigation of Brillouin light scattering in crystals and glasses with application to problems of quantum electronics and fiber optics

The theory of Rayleigh scattering and Brillouin scattering (BS) is briefly reviewed. Attention is then given to a highly sensitive BS spectrometer which incorporates a piezoelectric scanning Fabry-Perot interferometer. The role of stimulated BS in the laser-induced damage of transparent dielectrics is clarified experimentally. The BS technique is used to study the elastic and photoelastic properties and scattering losses of a large number of optical glasses and laser glasses. This technique is also used to investigate the relationship between Rayleigh scattering intensity and the efficiency of interaction between activator ions and glasses which convert IR radiation into visible radiation. Finally, this technique is used to perform measurements of the angular distribution of scattering, scattering losses, and polarization in fiber-optic waveguides.