The steady-state absorption saturation of the photodarkend SDG was investigated. The absorption saturation intensity was observed to increase for the photodarkened sample. The diffraction efficiency of the permanent grating due to photodarkening was also measured using the backward DFWM technique. For the low backward pump intensity, the diffraction efficiency was proportional to the intensity of the pump beam. The origin of increasing diffraction efficiency is attributed to the difference in absorption between the permanent gratings created by photodarkening. ening.