A brief review of transverse mode structure in various curved mirror laser cavities is given. Cavities considered are those consisting of two concave mirrors, a concave and a plane mirror, and a concave and a convex mirror. The volume of the TEM₀₀ mode in the various cavities is discussed, and the alignment tolerance on the mirrors is considered. It is shown that the maximum volume of the TEM₀₀ mode in the near-hemispherical cavity is roughly one-third of the volume in the plane-parallel cavity, but that for a given mode volume, the near-hemispherical cavity is the easiest of all curved mirror cavities to align. It is suggested on the basis of the above consideration that the near-hemispherical cavity is the most practical cavity to use in a laser.

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