Two-dimensional simulation of an unstable resonator with a stable core

Area of Science:

• Optics and Photonics
• Laser Physics
• Computational Physics

Background:

• Designing optical resonators for low-gain, large-bore lasers like chemical oxygen-iodine lasers (COIL) presents unique challenges.
• Partially coherent optical fields require specialized simulation approaches for accurate resonator analysis.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a novel optical resonator simulation code based on partially coherent optical fields.
• To optimize the design parameters of an unstable resonator with a stable core for COIL applications.
• To experimentally verify the simulation code's predictions.

Main Methods:

• Development of a simulation code incorporating partially coherent optical field principles.
• Optimization of unstable resonator design parameters using the developed simulation code.
• Fabrication of a mirror set for a small-scale chemical oxygen-iodine laser.
• Experimental testing and performance evaluation of the fabricated resonator.

Main Results:

• The simulation code successfully optimized the resonator design parameters.
• A small-scale chemical oxygen-iodine laser with the optimized resonator achieved an output power of 14 W.
• The experimental results closely matched the predictions from the simulation code.
• The beam quality was characterized by an M(2) value of 29.

Conclusions:

• The developed partially coherent optical field simulation code is effective for optimizing unstable resonators.
• The optimized resonator design is suitable for low-gain, large-bore lasers such as COIL.
• Experimental validation confirms the accuracy and utility of the simulation approach for laser resonator design.