CHAPTER 5 – The Ledatron*

A new laser resonator is proposed in which a specified higher order Hermite-Gaussian mode becomes the lowest loss mode. The two reflectors in the resonator are blocked in the vicinity of the characteristic zeros of the mode and the edge (i.e., |x|, |y| /spl rlarr2/ /spl infin/). In such a configuration the mode volume is enhanced, and mode selection is improved as compared with a conventional resonator in which a Gaussian mode is the dominant one. We have specialized to TEM/sub 22/ mode. The solutions to the integral equation for the eigenmodes and eigenvalues of the resonator are obtained on a digital computer. The computed eigenfunctions and mode selection show several interesting characteristics, and the loss mechanism for a few low-loss modes are elucidated. The computational results show that the location and the width of the blocking structure are closely related to the mode competition phenomenon and therefore mode selection.

S. Nishida

Papers

A Laser Resonator with a Selector for a Higher Transverse Mode (Correspondence)