Transverse optical mode patterns for an RF excited Ar-He-Xe laser

Author

Blok, Frans J. ; Elkin, Nikolay N. ; Kochetov, Igor V. ; Napartovich, Anatoly P. ; Pters, P.J.M. ; Starostin, Sergei A. ; Troshchieva, Vera N. ; Udalov, Yuri B. ; Witteman, W.J.

Author_Institution

Dept. of Appl. Phys., Twente Univ., Enschede, Netherlands

Volume

35

Issue

12

fYear

36495

fDate

12/1/1999 12:00:00 AM

Firstpage

1786

Lastpage

1798

Abstract

Transverse optical modes for an RF excited Ar-He-Xe laser are studied both experimentally and theoretically. A diffraction model for a waveguide with a nonsaturable gain and refractive index gradients placed between two plane mirrors is formulated. The effects of gain and diffraction index gradients and of diffraction in free space are evaluated for typical experimental conditions. A direct comparison between theoretical mode patterns and experimentally measured ones at distances of 17 and 114 cm from the output mirror demonstrated a satisfactory agreement for various laser wavelengths and gas mixture compositions

Keywords

argon; gas lasers; helium; laser mirrors; laser modes; light diffraction; xenon; 114 cm; 17 cm; Ar-He-Xe; Ar-He-Xe laser; RF excited; diffraction index grad; diffraction model; free space diffraction; gas mixture compositions; inert gas lasers; laser wavelengths; nonsaturable gain; output mirror; plane mirrors; refractive index gradients; theoretical mode patterns; transverse optical mode patterns; Laser excitation; Laser modes; Laser theory; Mirrors; Optical diffraction; Optical refraction; Optical variables control; Optical waveguides; Radio frequency; Waveguide lasers;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Quantum Electronics, IEEE Journal of

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

0018-9197

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/3.806585

Filename

806585