Transformation of Nanosecond Laser Pulses under the Conditions of Total Internal Reflection from a Layer with Thermal Nonlinearity

The nonlinear, total internal reflection of a laser pulse from an absorbing layer of finite thickness in the presence of a retrodirective mirror has been considered in the framework of the plane-wave approximation. The dynamics of reflection of a pulse from a nonlinear layer has been investigated on the basis of the solution of Maxwell equations for a refracted wave and constitutive equations for a medium with thermal nonlinearity. The numerical solution of the unsteady equations obtained allows one to determine the evolution of the reflectance of a layer. The time evolution of the energy parameters and the shape of the reflected and transmitted pulses has been numerically simulated.