Whispering-gallery mirrors for short-wavelength laser cavities: shapes and tolerances

摘要

The whispering-gallery mirrors desired for use in short-wavelength laser cavities are seen to be highly aspheric and very different from the shapes encountered in conventional optics. Fabrication tolerances are established by examining the effects of various surface imperfections. The mirrors are found to be relatively insensitive to figure errors. The requirements on surface finish are shown to be fairly strict, though less severe than with normal-incidence optics.