Unstable Resonator with High Cavity Q: General Theory and Application to a Chemical Laser.

摘要

A novel unstable resonator with no central obscuration in the output beam is studied. The general properties are determined and a design for a moderate power chemical laser is suggested and discussed. The resonator uses beam rotation to create an output beam with no central obscuration. The analysis and calculations indicate that the resonator is capable of producing a nearly diffraction-limited output beam. It should be useful for application with laser media that do not have high enough gain for efficient power extraction using conventional unstable resonators. A new ray-matrix method for the analysis of ring resonators with beam rotation is developed and applied. It is especially useful in the evaluation of the sensitivity to mirror tilt of resonators with beam rotation.