Laser resonators with tilted reflectors

Area of Science:

• Optics and Photonics
• Laser Physics
• Resonator Design

Background:

• Laser resonators with spherical reflectors are crucial in various laser applications.
• Understanding mode behavior in tilted configurations is essential for optimizing laser performance.
• Existing models may not fully capture the complexities of tilted, rectangular, spherical reflectors.

Purpose of the Study:

• To solve the mode problem for laser resonators with identical, tilted, rectangular, spherical reflectors.
• To analyze both stable and unstable resonator configurations.
• To provide insights into resonator sensitivity to alignment and tilt.

Main Methods:

• Utilized Gaussian quadrature integration to transform the integral equation into a matrix equation.
• Employed the ALLMAT matrix diagonalization program for solving the matrix equation.
• Analyzed resonator losses in both stable and unstable configurations.

Main Results:

• Identified that plane parallel and aligned concentric resonators exhibit identical losses.
• Demonstrated that aligned concentric resonators are significantly less sensitive to misalignment.
• Derived an approximation for low-loss modes in tilted stable resonators based on average aligned resonator losses.
• Observed that stable resonator losses increase monotonically with tilt.
• Found that unstable resonator losses do not always increase with tilt and can decrease for small tilts.

Conclusions:

• The study provides a comprehensive solution for the mode problem in tilted laser resonators.
• The findings offer practical guidance for designing and aligning laser resonators for improved stability and performance.
• The derived approximation for tilted stable resonators offers a valuable tool for predictive analysis.