Title :
Novel large mode volume resonator
Author :
Pax, Paul ; Weston, Jeremy
Author_Institution :
Continuum, Santa Clara, CA, USA
fDate :
5/1/1991 12:00:00 AM
Abstract :
A resonator in which the dominant mode-shaping effect is diffraction from an undersized aperture is reported. The result is a large mode volume and a near diffraction-limited Gaussian output beam. The alignment sensitivity is similar to that of a positive branch unstable resonator, although the mirror configuration can vary over a large range in either the geometrically stable or unstable regimes. A pulsed Nd:YAG laser using this resonator was built and characterized in the free-running, Q-switching, and mode-locking regimes, and as a regenerative amplifier
Keywords :
Q-switching; laser cavity resonators; laser mode locking; neodymium; solid lasers; Q-switching; YAG:Nd; YAl5O12:Nd; alignment sensitivity; diffraction; dominant mode-shaping effect; freerunning regimes; large mode volume resonator; mirror configuration; mode-locking regimes; near diffraction-limited Gaussian output beam; pulsed Nd:YAG laser; regenerative amplifier; undersized aperture; unstable regimes; Apertures; Geometrical optics; Laser beams; Laser mode locking; Lenses; Optical diffraction; Optical losses; Optical pulses; Optical resonators; Pulse amplifiers;
Journal_Title :
Quantum Electronics, IEEE Journal of
