Expand this Topic clickable element to expand a topic
Skip to content
Optica Publishing Group

Numerical solution of the exact cavity equations of motion for an unstable optical resonator

Not Accessible

Your library or personal account may give you access

Abstract

We solve numerically, we believe for the first time, the exact cavity equations of motion for a realistic unstable resonator with a simple gain saturation model. The cavity equations of motion, first formulated by Siegman [ “ Exact Cavity Equations for Lasers with Large Output Coupling,” Appl. Phys. Lett. 36, 412– 414 ( 1980)], and which we term the dynamic coupled modes (DCM) method of solution, solve for the full 3-D time dependent electric field inside the optical cavity by expanding the field in terms of the actual diffractive transverse eigenmodes of the bare (gain free) cavity with time varying coefficients. The spatially varying gain serves to couple the bare cavity transverse modes and to scatter power from mode to mode. We show that the DCM method numerically converges with respect to the number of eigenmodes in the basis set. The intracavity intensity in the numerical example shown reaches a steady state, and this steady state distribution is compared with that computed from the traditional Fox and Li approach using a fast Fourier transform propagation algorithm. The output wavefronts from both methods are quite similar, and the computed output powers agree to within 10%. The usefulness and advantages of using this method for predicting the output of a laser, especially pulsed lasers used for coherent detection, are discussed.

© 1990 Optical Society of America

Full Article  |  PDF Article
More Like This
Eigenmodes of misaligned unstable optical resonators with circular mirrors

Mark S. Bowers
Appl. Opt. 31(9) 1185-1198 (1992)

Mode Calculations in Unstable Resonators with Flowing Saturable Gain. 1:Hermite-Gaussian Expansion

A. E. Siegman and Edward A. Sziklas
Appl. Opt. 13(12) 2775-2792 (1974)

Extra-cavity feedback into unstable resonators

P. B. Corkum and H. A. Baldis
Appl. Opt. 18(9) 1346-1349 (1979)

Cited By

You do not have subscription access to this journal. Cited by links are available to subscribers only. You may subscribe either as an Optica member, or as an authorized user of your institution.

Contact your librarian or system administrator
or
Login to access Optica Member Subscription

Figures (7)

You do not have subscription access to this journal. Figure files are available to subscribers only. You may subscribe either as an Optica member, or as an authorized user of your institution.

Contact your librarian or system administrator
or
Login to access Optica Member Subscription

Tables (3)

You do not have subscription access to this journal. Article tables are available to subscribers only. You may subscribe either as an Optica member, or as an authorized user of your institution.

Contact your librarian or system administrator
or
Login to access Optica Member Subscription

Equations (37)

You do not have subscription access to this journal. Equations are available to subscribers only. You may subscribe either as an Optica member, or as an authorized user of your institution.

Contact your librarian or system administrator
or
Login to access Optica Member Subscription

Select as filters


Select Topics Cancel
© Copyright 2024 | Optica Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved