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The Physics and Technology o f Laser Resonators
The Physics and Technology of Laser
Resonators
Edited by
D R H all and P E Jackson
D epartm ent o f Physics,

H eriot-W att University, Edinburgh
Taylor & Francis is an im print of the

Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
Published in 1989 by Published in Great Britain by
Taylor & Francis Group Taylor & Francis Group
270 Madison Avenue 2 Park Square
New York, NY 10016 Milton Park, Abingdon
Oxon OX14 4RN
© 1989 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
No claim to original U.S. Government works

Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2
International Standard Book Number-10: 0-85274-117-0 (Hardcover)

International Standard Book Number-13: 978-0-85274-117-7 (Hardcover)
Consultant Editor: Professor W. T. W elford, Imperial College, London
This book contains information obtained from authentic and highly regarded sources. Reprinted material is
quoted with permission, and sources are indicated. A wide variety of references are listed. Reasonable efforts
have been made to publish reliable data and information, but the author and the publisher cannot assume
responsibility for the validity of all materials or for the consequences of their use.
No part of this book may be reprinted, reproduced, transmitted, or utilized in any form by any electronic,
mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying, microfilming, and
recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without written permission from the publishers.
T radem ark Notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only
for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.
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Catalog record is available from the Library of Congress
Visit the Taylor & Francis Web site at

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Taylor & Francis Group
is the A cadem ic D ivision o f Inform a plc.
CONTENTS
List of Contributors xii
Preface xiii
PART ONE FUNDAMENTALS RESONATOR
Laser Resonators and Gaussian Beams 1

A C W ALK E R
1.1 Introduction 1
1.2 The Fabry-Perot Resonator 1
1.3 Geometric Ray Analysis of Optical Resonators 5
1.3.1 Ray Transfer Matrices 5
1.3.2 Stability Conditions for an Open Resonator 7
1.3.3 Examples of Stable Open Resonators 8
1.4 Diffraction Approach to Stable Resonators 9
1.4.1 Gaussian Spherical Waves 9
1.4.2 Lowest-Order Mode Diameters in Stable
Resonators 10
1.4.3 Fresnel Number and Diffraction Losses 12
1.4.4 Higher Order Transverse Modes and their
Suppression 13
1.5 Properties of Gaussian Beams 14
1.5.1 The Paraxial Wave Equation and the Complex Beam
Parameter 14
1.5.2 Propagation of Gaussian Beams 16
1.5.3 Power Distribution in Gaussian Beams 18
1.5.4 Gaussian Beam Focussing 18
1.6 References 20
Unstable Resonators 21
P E D YER
2.1 Introduction 21
2.2 Advantages 21
2.3 Basic Concepts 22
2.4 Geometrical Mode Analysis 23
2.5 Practical Resonators 26
2.6 Near and Far-Field Pattern 27
2.7 Experimental Studies 29
2.8 Wave Analysis 30
2.9 Design Procedure 33
vi
2.10 Mode Control in Short Galn-LIfe Lasers 34

2.11 Special Techniques 36
2.11.1 Injection Locking 36
2.11.2 Novel Geometries 37
2.11.3 Variable Reflectivity Mirror Resonators 37
2.12 Conclusions 38
2.13 References 39
3 Theory of Waveguide Laser Resonators 40

C A H IL L
3.1 Introduction 40
3.2 Propagation in Hollow Dielectric Waveguides 41
3.2.1 Waveguide Mode Expressions 42
3.3 Waveguide Resonator Analysis 44
3.3.1 The Concept of Resonator Modes 45
3.3.2 Waveguide Modes 47
3.3.3 Mode Coupling, Coupling Losses and Mode
Losses 48
3.3.4 Single-Mode, Few Mode, and Multimode Theory 49
3.4 First Order Theory and its Limits 50
3.4.1 Coupling Loss Theory of Single Mode
Waveguide Resonators 50
3.4.2 Dual Case I Waveguide Lasers 53
3.4.3 Rigrod Analysis for Waveguide Lasers 55
3.5 Real WaveguideResonators: Experiment and Theory 56
3.5.1 Distant Mirrors 56
3.5.2 Tilted Mirrors and Folded Lasers 57
3.5.3 Tunability and Line Selection 58
3.5.4 Resonator Mode Degeneracies: Hopping and
Hooting 59
3.6 Summary 60
3.7 References 60
4 Ring Laser Resonators 62

T A K IN G
4.1 Introduction 62
4.2 Features of Ring Cavities 62
4.2.1 Cavity Optics 62
4.2.2 Image Rotation in Nonplanar Rings 64
4.2.3 Spatial Hole Burning 65
4.2.4 Unidirectional Oscillation 65
4.2.5 Unstable Ring Resonators 67
4.2.6 Passive Ring Resonators 67
4.3 Nonplanar Rings 68
4.3.1 Polarization Rotation 68
4.3.2 Nonplanar Ring and Frequency Modes 69
vii
4.4 Applications 72
4.4.1 Ring Laser Gyroscope 72
4.4.2 Nonplanar Solid State Ring Oscillator 75
4.4.3 O ther Applications 76
4.5 References 78
5 Multifold Laser Resonators 80

H J BAKER
5.1 Introduction 80
5.2 Plane Mirror Folded Cavities 82
5.3 Resonator Support Structure 83
5.4 Mode-M irror Interactions 85
5.5 Mode “Medium Interactions 86
5.6 Curved Mirror Folding of Cavities 88
5.7 Off-Axis Curved Mirror Folding 89
5.8 Summary 93
5.9 References 93
6 Resonators with. Variable Reflectivity Mirrors 94

V MAGNIy S DE SIL V E S T R I and A C Y B O -O T T O N E
6.1 Introduction 94
6.2 Unstable Resonators with Gaussian Mirrors 95
6.3 Unstable Resonators with SuperGaussian Mirrors 98
6.4 Practical Variable Reflectivity Mirrors and
Couplers 100
6.5 References 104
7 Numerical Resonator Calculations 106

P E JAC K SO N
1 .1 Introduction 106
7.2 Scalar-Diffraction Iteration Algorithms 106
7.2.1 Fox and Li Calculations 106
7.2.2 H igh-Order Modes 110
7.2.3 Modes in the Presence of Saturable Gain 112
7.2.4 O ther Algorithms 114
7.3 Matrix Techniques 115
7.4 The O pen-Ended Waveguide Approach 116
7.5 References 116
8 Frequency Stabilisation of Lasers 117

K M AB R AM SK I and D R H A L L
8.1 Introduction 117
viii
8.2 Laser Frequency Fluctuations 118

8.2.1 Elementary Considerations 118
8.2.2 Intrinsic Fluctuations 119
8.2.3 Environmental Fluctuations 120
8.3 Characterisation of Frequency Stability 120
8.3.1 Measurement Techniques 120
8.3.2 Definition of Frequency Stability 121
8.4 Principles of Laser Frequency Stabilisation 123
8.4.1 Passive Stabilisation 123
8.4.2 Active Frequency Stabilisation 124
8.5 Representative Frequency Stabilisation Schemes 128
8.5.1 H e-N e Lasers 128
8.5.2 C 0 2 Lasers 129
8.5.3 Semiconductor Lasers 129
8.5.4 Solid State Lasers 130
8.6 Conclusions 130
8.7 References 131
9 Propagation of Multimode Laser Beams - The M2 Factor 132

M W SA SN E T T
9.2 Higher-Order Beams 132
9.3 A Numerical Evaluation of Beam Quality 135
9.4 Experimental Measurements 135
9.5 Higher-Order Beams in Laser Applications 140
9.6 Summary and Conclusion 141
9.7 References 142
10 Laser Beam Analysis by Geometrical Optics 143

W A E G O ETH A LS
10.2 Presentation of an Optical System in the
Configuration Phase Space 143
10.2.1 Paraxial Single Ray Tracing 144
10.2.2 Ray Ensembles 144
10.2.3 Liouville's Theorem 145
10.3 Paraxial Optics of Gaussian and Higher Order
Laser Beams 146
10.3.1 Paraxial Beam Tracing 147
10.3.2 Twiss Parameters 147
10.3.3 Examples 148
10.4 Beam Quality 149
10.5 Exact Beam Tracing 150
10.5.1 Laser Beams from Stable Resonators 150
10.5.2 Laser Beams from Unstable Resonators 150
10.6 Discussions 153
10.7 References 153
FART TWO LASER RESONATOR TECHNOLOGY
11 YAG laser Resonator Technology 154

G BURROW S
11.2 Thermal Effects and the Rod Geometry 155
11.2.1 Thermal-Birefringence 156
11.2.2 Thermal Focussing 158
11.3 The Basic Resonator 158
11.4 Compensated Resonators 161
11.5 Summary 162
11.6 References 162
12 Resonators for Dye Lasers and Optical

Parametric Oscillators 163
M H DUNN
12.2 Dye Laser Cavity with Transform-Limited Linewidth 163
12.3 Visible Optical Parametric Oscillators 167
12.4 References 175
13 Resonators for High Power CQ2 Lasers 176

D J D YSO N
13.2 The Requirements of the Cavity Design 176
13.3 Thermal Distortion 178
13.4 Thermal Lensing 181
13.5 Thermal Damage 184
13.6 Alignment Tolerance 186
13.7 Refraction Effects 187
13.8 Designing a Laser Cavity 188
13.9 Conclusion 189
13.10 References 189
14 Diode Laser Resonators 190

M J AD AM S and I D H E N N IN G
14.2 Diode Laser Fundamentals 190
X
14.3 Diode Laser Structures 191

14.4 Basic Diode Laser Resonators 192
14.5 More Complicated Resonators 193
14.6 Resonators for Optical Integration 195
14.7 Conclusion 196
14.8 References 197
15 Diode Pumped Solid State Laser Resonators 198

A I FERGUSON
15.2 The Monolithic Cavity 199
15.3 The Hybrid Cavity 200
15.4 Mode-Locked Cavities 201
15.5 Ring Lasers 206
15.6 References 208
16 Fibre Laser Resonators 209

P U RQU H ART
16.2 Single-Mode Doped Fibre 209
16.3 Fibre Fabry-Perot Laser 210
16.4 Connectors and Splices 212
16.5 Direction Couplers 213
16.6 Other Intra-Cavity Components 215
16.7 Alternative Resonator Designs 215
16.8 Conclusion 218
16.9 References 218
17 CO2 Waveguide Laser Resonators 220

1 E R O SS
17.2 Resonators For Waveguide C 0 2 Lasers 221
17.2.1 Design of the Waveguide 221
17.2.2 Waveguide Resonator Design 222
17.3 The Technology of C 0 2 Waveguide Lasers 224
17.3.1 Excitation Techniques 224
17.3.2 Waveguide Laser Construction 225
17.3.3 Influence of the Gain Medium on Waveguide
Mode Control 227
17.4 Folded C 0 2 Waveguide Lasers 227
17.5 Resonators for Slab Waveguide Lasers 230
17.6 References 231
xi
18 Extimer Laser Resonators 232

M J SHAW
18.2 Plane Resonators 232
18.2.1 Extraction Efficiency 232
18.2.2 Cavity Build-up Time 235
18.3 Narrow-Line Operation 236
18.4 Transverse Mode Selection 239
18.4.1 Unstable Resonators 239
18.4.2 Injection Seeding 240
18.5 Short Pulses 242
18.6 Practical Considerations 243
18.6.1 Windows 244
18.6.2 Mirrors 233
18.7 Conclusions 245
18.8 References 245
INDEX 247
LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS
K M ABRAMSM Optoelectronics and Laser Engineering, Department of
Physics, H eriot-W att University, Edinburgh, Scotland
On leave from The Technical University of Wroclaw, Poland
M J ADAMS British Telecom Research Laboratories, Martlesham

Heath, Ipswich, England
H J BAKER Optoelectronics and Laser Engineering, Department of
G BURROWS Lumonics L td, Cosford Lane, Swift Valley, Rugby,
Warwickshire, England
M H DUNN Department of Physics and Astronomy, University o f St
Andrews, North Haugh, St Andrews, Scotland
P E DYER Department of Applied Physics, University of Hull,
Hull, England
D J DYSON Ferranti International, Dunsinane Avenue, Dundee,
Fife, Scotland
A I FERGUSON Department of Physics, University of Strathclyde,
Glasgow, Scotland
W A GOETHALS Advanced Production Automation BV, Veldhoven, The
Netherlands
D R HALL Optoelectronics and Laser Engineering, Department of
I D HENNING British Telecom Research Laboratories, Martlesham
Heath, Ipswich, England
C A HILL Royal Signals and Radar Establishment, St Andrews
Rd, Malvern, Worcs, England
P E JACKSON Optoelectronics and Laser Engineering, Department of
T A KING Department of Physics, Manchester University,
Manchester, England
V MAGNI Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Istituto di Fisica,
Poiitecnico di Milano, Milan, Italy
I E ROSS Ferranti International, Dunsinane Avenue, Dundee,
Scotland
M W SASNETT Coherent General Inc., Palo Alto, California, USA
M J SHAW Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot, Oxon,
England
P URQUHART British Telecom Research Laboratories, Ipswich, England
A C WALKER Department of Physics, H eriot-W att University,
Edinburgh, Scotland
PREFACE
The topics covered in this book are centra! to the design, construction and
application of lasers. Most of the unique characteristics of lasers as optical
sources are linked to the properties of the laser resonator. This applies as
much to microscopic semiconductor lasers as to the high power industrial
material processing lasers whose volume may be more than 1011 times larger.
The idea for the book has grown from a 1-day tutorial-style meeting
organised under the auspices of the Quantum Electronics Group of the UK
Institute of Physics. Although the contents of the book are based on the
presentation given at this meeting considerable efforts have been made,
including substantial additional material, to shape the contributions into a
coherent whole.
The objectives have been to bring together in a single volume not only an
introduction to the underlying physics of laser resonators and laser beams, but
also material, not so readily available in text books, on the application of
basic principles to the design of resonators for most of the important types of
laser in common use today. Although, in some instances particular
technologies are described, the overall aim has been to emphasize design
principles rather than specific implementations.
Part One begins with a pivotal chapter describing the elementary principles of
laser beams and conventional 'free space' Gaussian resonators. It is followed
by four chapters which describe the design of certain variants on the basic
resonator theme. Thus, Chapter 2-5 cover 'Unstable Resonators, 'Waveguide
Resonators', 'Ring Resonators' and 'Multifold Resonators'. In each case, the
emphasis is on fundamental principles rather than technology. There has been
considerable interest recently in the use of laser mirrors which have spatial
variations in reflectivity as a means of controlling the transverse beam intensity
profile. This is covered in Chapter 6 describing 'Variable Reflectivity
Mirrors'. Recognizing that a number of important resonator types cannot be
described by simple Gaussian beam analysis, Chapter 7 has been included to
describe computer modelling of diffraction effects in 'Numerical Resonator
Calculations'. Many important applications depend on the availability of laser
sources of very narrow linewidths leading to the requirement for techniques for
'Frequency Stabilisation of Lasers' as described in Chapter 8.
Many lasers, particularly those operating at high average power produce
outputs which are not ideal TEM qq beams. Techniques for characterising the
'Propagation of Multimode Beams' and for 'Beam Analysis by Geometrical
Optics' are presented in the final two chapters of Part One.
Part Two of the book is devoted to discussion of the principles of laser

resonator design as they impact most of the important types of laser. The
technology appropriate to these lasers is extremely varied, and although it is
covered where appropriate, considerable efforts have been made to describe
underlying design goals and principles rather than specific technological
solutions. These discussions encompass YAG lasers, dye lasers, optical
parameter oscillators, high power and waveguide C 0 2 lasers, diode lasers, fibre
lasers, diode-pumped solid-state lasers and excimer lasers.
The text is primarily intended for use in introductory courses in Lasers and
Optoelectronics at the level of final year undergraduate or first year graduate
students. It is also hoped that practising scientists and engineers and others
looking for an introduction to the field will benefit from the material and
design principles described.
We would like to thank a number of people, without whom this book could
not have been produced. Most importantly we thank the authors, whose
contributions make the book, for finding time in busy schedules to adapt and
expand their oral presentations to the needs of a text book. They have been
extremely patient in the face of our cajoling and editorial efforts. We
gratefully offer our thanks to colleagues and graduate students at H eriot-W att
University for responding so patiently and conscientiously to requests to
proof-read parts of the manuscript and particularly to Dr Howard Baker for
additional editorial assistance; to Mrs Lesley Lumsden for typing part of the
manuscript and Mrs Sherron Gilroy who prepared some of the illustrations.
Finally, our gratitude and admiration are due to Alan Colley for his creative
wordprocessing and text productions skills, his conscientious attention to detail,
amazing capacity for work and unflagging enthusiasm; he is mainly responsible
for the high quality of the camera-ready copy.
Edinburgh Denis R Hall and Paul E Jackson

August 1989
PA R T O N E F U N D A M E N T A L S OF
R E S O N A T O R P H Y S IC S
1 L aser R e s o n a to r s a n d G a u ssia n B e a m s
A C W A L K E R
1.1 INTRODUCTION
The first laser to be operated - the ruby laser in 1960 - and the vast
majority of other lasers developed since, consist of a gain medium placed
within an optical resonator (or cavity). Although the gain medium, which
gives each type of laser its name, determines the output power/energy and
ultimate tuning range, it is the resonator that controls the spatial quality and
spectral line width of any particular laser. As these two parameters are the
very factors that make lasers unique light sources, with high spatial and
temporal coherence, it follows that the design and construction of the
resonator deserves close attention.
Over the last 30 years or so, a wide range of resonators have been
developed and exploited within commercially available laser systems. These
include: free-space stable standing-wave and ring cavities, both constructed
with discrete mirrors; three dimensional guided-wave resonators formed out of
the gain medium itself or with external reflectors; and unstable or
non-confining cavities relying on mirrors of restricted transverse dimension or
spatially graded reflectivities. This chapter introduces the basics of laser
resonator design, in particular discussing what are called conventional stable
resonators and the spatial properties of the light inside, and emitted from,
such cavities. Subsequent chapters cover the physics of some of the more
complex resonators such as rings, unstable and waveguide resonators.
In general, a stable resonator, whether acoustic, electrical or optical, can
be defined as an extended environment within which the relevant type of wave
or oscillation can circulate in a self-consistent fashion. That is, every time
the excitation returns to a particular point in space, its phase and amplitude
are the same as the previous occasion. In this way, when driven for times
longer than this circulation time, constant amplitude constructive interference
occurs with consequent strong coupling between the driving mechanism and the
resonator. Thus, in the same way as with musical ietruments, where the
resonator (sound-box) efficiently couples the energy source (eg. vibrating
string) to free-space sound waves; a laser optical resonator provides a
mechanism by which the gain medium can be coupled to well defined
free-space optical modes.
1.2 THE FABRY-PEROT RESONATOR
The simplest, and most commonly used, laser resonator is the Fabry-Perot
2 Laser Resonators and Gaussian Beams
cavity, in which two mirrors oppose each other across the gain medium (See
Figure 1.1). Such a resonator provides physical confinement in one dimension
only and consequently light simply reflects back and forth along the axis
Fig 1.1 A resonant mode of an optical Fabry-Perot cavity. The curve represents the
instantaneous standing wave produced by the oscillatory electric field circulating
within the resonator. The two mirrors are separated by q half-wavelengths.
joining the two mirrors, in a manner determined by their detailed

specifications (eg. curvatures, sizes, reflectivities). In such a cavity, the
conditions for stable resonance can be specified in terms of three parameters
which must remain unchanged after one complete rou n d -trip :
(i) the phase of the optical wave-front

(ii) the on-axis amplitude of the wave, and
(iii) the amplitude distribution, transverse to the axis
The consequence of each of these conditions can be considered in turn.
Phase
In order for the phase to be reproduced on each round-trip, such as to

ensure the components of the optical field coupled out of the cavity (through
the partially transmitting mirror) all add constructively, the oscillating
wavelength of the light must correspond to an integer fraction of the cavity
round-trip length.
Thus: X =— (l.l)
<7
where q is an integer and n is the average refractive index over the length of
the cavity, L. As indicated in Figure 1.1, this corresponds to q
half-wavelengths fitting between the mirrors and is precisely the same
condition as for maximum transmission through a conventional Fabry-Perot
interferometer. Each value of q corresponds to a different longitudinal (or
"axial") mode of the cavity. In the absence of any additional
frequency-selective components inside the cavity, as many modes will oscillate
as are compatible with the gain line-width.
The separation between modes is constant in the frequency domain (p =
c/X) and is readily calculated using equation (1.1):
&v = v q+ l - vq
= £ z « + 1> - i k *
A C Walker 3
i.e. (1 .2)
For a conventional Fabry-Perot interferometer the spectral width of each mode

is determined by the finesse:
F = 0.3)
1 - R e - 01*
where R is the geometric mean of the two mirror irradiance reflectivities and
a is the internal power loss coefficient. The mode width (FWHM) is then
given by:
5 v « Av/ F 0.4)
If the loss is replaced by gain and the cavity operated as a cw laser,

then at equilibrium, the total round-trip transmission is just unity, i.e. R e - 0^
= 1 (see next section). As a consequence the finesse, given by equation (1.3),
theoretically becomes infinite and hence 5u should be very small. This is
indeed the case; linewidths for a laser operating on a single longitudinal mode
can be well below the kHz level (effective finesse ~ 105). Although the
ultimate limit is fixed by quantum fluctuations, the main factor that usually
determines the actual mode width is the stability of the overall system.
Fluctuations in gain, cavity length or alignment of a cw laser, or the time
variation of a pulsed laser, correspond to mode broadening in the frequency
domain. Despite these factors, single frequency (single mode) Fabry-Perot
resonator lasers achieve extraordinary temporal coherence by comparison with
other light sources. This topic is covered in more detail in Chapter 8.
Amplitude
For the light flux within the cavity to build up from the initial low level of
spontaneous emission, the round trip net gain must be greater than unity. As
long as this is the case, the optical field grows exponentially. Clearly, such
an amplification cannot proceed indefinitely and in practice, the gain starts to
fall or saturate as the power-demand placed on the gain medium exceeds the
limits imposed on it by the rate of excitation (i.e. the pump power). As this
happens the resonator round-trip gain falls until it reaches unity. Any further
decrease in gain would result in decay of the optical field and recovery of the
gain. In a continuously pumped laser, the power circulating within the
resonator stabilisesat a level at which the saturated gain just balances the
internal losses. Thus the resonance condition that the amplitude be
reproduced each round-trip is, as with most types of resonator, automatically
satisfied.
It is clear from the above discussion that the transmission of the output
mirror is critical in determining the power output of the resonator. If this
transmission is very high then there is a large cavity loss factor and the build
up of internal irradiance, and hence the output power, is limited by the need
to maintain a large amplification factor in the gain medium. Conversely, if
the output mirror transmission is very low then the available output power is
shared between this low loss and other comparable sources of loss in the
cavity, eg. absorption, scatter, reflections off internal optical surfaces, etc.
ABSORPTANCE, A
Fig 1.2 (a) Plot showing that to maximise the output irradiance I oup from a laser
resonator, an optimum output coupler reflectivity R, must be selected. Output
irradiance has been normalised to the saturation irradiance of the gain medium
I$ (b) Curves showing how the optimum reflectivity RQpt depends upon the
small-signal, double-pass gain factor G and the parasitic round-trip less factor
A. Both plots are based on the infinite plane-wave mean-field equation 1.7.
If the background absorptance (loss) is A t and the output coupler

reflectivity R f then at equilibrium:
(1 - A) R e x p (2gL) = 1 (1.5)
Writing the small signal gain factor for a double pass through the gain
medium as G t and assuming a saturation response appropriate for a
homogeneously broadened transition, then this relation becomes:
A C Walker 5
( 1 .6)
where I is the mean internal cavity irradiance and /§ the saturation irradiance
of the gain medium. Using Im t = -^I(ln R ) then:
lnC
0.7)
■]
For particular values of the gain and loss factor, G and A, equation (1.7)
indicates an optimum output coupler reflectivity, R, which maximises I oa f
Figure 1.2 shows examples of the dependence of the optimum R upon G and
A, deduced from equation (1.7).
The mean-field theory approach described above is only strictly valid for
low A, and R close to unity, when the spatial variation of irradiance along
the length of the gain medium is small. Otherwise the spatial dependence of
gain saturation, and the positions in the cavity of those components
contributing to parasitic losses, should properly be taken into account within a
more detailed theoretical description.
Transverse Amplitude Profile
In general, a cavity of the type indicated in Figure 1.1, i.e. formed from two
plane mirrors, will not act as a stable resonator. Any beam of finite
cross-section within such a cavity will diverge due to normal diffraction
processes and consequently the transverse amplitude profile of the optical field
will not be reproduced on each round trip.
Within this book a variety of techniques for overcoming this divergence
are discussed, including: (i) transverse confinement of the optical field
(waveguide lasers); (ii) coupling out of the cavity all light beyond some radius
(unstable resonators); and (iii) the inclusion of focusing elements inside the
cavity of sufficient power to compensate diffraction spreading (stable
resonators). The latter approach, usually exploiting focussing cavity mirrors, is
one of the most common techniques and is the major topic of the remainder
of this chapter.
1.3 GEOMETRIC RAY ANALYSIS OF OPTICAL RESONATORS
Although ultimately it is diffraction which causes finite diameter light beams to

diverge within a plane-m irror Fabry-Perot cavity, the degree of internal
focussing which ensures that this is correctly compensated, can be calculated
on the basis of a simple geometrical ray-optics analysis. This is conveniently
described using a matrix approach.
1.3.1. Ray Transfer Matrices
A generalized ray of light in an optical system, passing through a specific

plane, set normal to the optical axis (z), can be characterised by its distance
from that axis and its angle relative to the plane normal. (See Figure 1 .3a).
In the paraxial ray approximation, the angle p = dr/dz and thus over a
distance L along the z-axis, and in the absence of any optical elements, the
initial values of r1 and pj are transformed to r 2 = r1 + L p 1 and p 2 = pj (see
Figure 1.3b). This relationship between these four parameters can be
summarised in a vector/matrix equation of the type:
( 1 . 8)
B, (1.9)
G i * = G1
[Mil ft
In this simple example the matrix is the ray-transfer matrix
corresponding to propagation of the ray over some distance, L. Similar
ray-transfer matrices can be constructed for any optical transformation
including the action of refracting surfaces, thin lenses, spherical mirrors, etc.
(a)
1 0
Mm - 2 /R 1
Fig 1.3 (a) Definition of a ray vector, R (z), for a ray at position z
within an optical system. (b) Ray transfer matrix, for free-space
propagation over distance L. (c) Ray transfer matrix, Mfn, for a concave mirror
with radius of curvature R.
The overall effect on a ray entering an optical system can be computed

by multiplying the matrices representing the individual optical components to
give a single matrix corresponding to the overall system.
When considering the simplest stable resonator structures, only two types
of matrix are required: (i) the matrix M£ , above; and (ii) the matrix
corresponding to a thin focusing element (lens or mirror). The latter has to
leave the ray position unchanged and transform the angle according to the
lens equation, thus: r2 = rp p2 = p j- rYl f .
In the case of a concave mirror of curvature radius R, the focal length,
/, can be replaced by R!2, giving the matrix for a concave mirror:
A C Walker 1
[ m j = [ \ 2 /R J] d -ii)
Note that this matrix does not account for the change in direction of the ray
on reflection, because in this analysis it is convenient to refer the angles, p,
to the general direction of propagation.
1.3.2 Stability Conditions for an Open Resonator
Ray transfer matrices can be used to determine the conditions under which the
simplest open resonator, formed by two spherical mirrors, are stable. At this
point it should be noted that for a specific ray starting at some arbitrary
position and angle, the resonator stability condition does not demand that the
ray return to this same position and angle on every round trip. It simply
requires that the light remain inside some finite boundary, such that all rays
contribute to a reproducible amplitude distribution (transverse mode). It is
therefore necessary to compute the effect on a ray of an arbitrary large
number of cavity round-trips and determine whether the components of the
ray vector will remain real and finite.
The general structure assumed for an open resonator is the common
arrangement of two spherical mirrors shown in Figure 1.4. (Other elements,
Fig 1.4 An optical cavity of length L formed by two spherical mirrors with
radii of curvature i?j and i?2 *
such as focusing lenses, dielectric gain-media, plane windows,

frequency-selective elements, may also be included but the basic principles
remain the same). Starting at point X, the matrix for a complete round trip
is given by:
[Mr ] = [ML] [ M ^ ] [Ml ] [M^ ]
1 - 2L/R2 2 L -4L /R 2
( 1 . 12 )
4L/Rj R2 - 2/Rj - 2/R 2 1+4 L2 /Kj R2 - 4L/Rt - 2L/R2
To analyze some number of round-trips, n, it is necessary to calculate:
[M ^]n . This can be achieved by applying Sylvester's theorem :
IA B in = 1i rrA s i n ( n 6 ) - s i n ( n - l ) I B s i n (n8)
lc Di nsin# L C s i n (n6) D s i n ( n 6 ) - s i n ( n - 1) ,] 0 . 1 3 )
where, s i n 0 = [1 - \(A+D)2 ] i (1.14)
For [M ^]n to be real, so too must be the term sin0. Given that A, B C
and D are all real, the stability criterion is then:
k(A+D)2 < 1
or -1 < i(A+D) < 1 (1 .1 5 )
For [M^] as calculated in equation (1.12), this corresponds to the condition:
r 2L 2L 21? 1
-1 < < 1
L ‘ R2 + RXR2 \
( 1 . 16)
This simple relation (1.16) specifies the conditions under which a cavity is
stable. It is sometimes written, using g1 = t - L / R 1 and g 2 = 1 - L I R ^ as 0 <
8182 < 1 *
1. PLAN E-CO N CA VE
R = 00 , L < R„ < co
Fig 1.5 Three e x a m p le s of

stab leoptical resonators 2. SYM M ETRIC-CO NCAVE (a)
formed by tw o spherical l /2 <■ R = R <L
mirrors, radii of curvature
J?2 and R 2, distance L apart.
3. SYM M ETRIC-CO NCAVE (b)

L < R1 = R2 <00
1.3.3 Examples of Stable Open Resonators
Figure 1.5 shows the most common stable resonator geometries. By far the
most convenient and frequently used cavity is the plane-concave configuration.
One advantage of this arrangement is that the plane reflector can be the
partially transmitting mirror and consequently, as both its surfaces are easily
made flat, no geometric divergence/convergence is imposed on the output beam
- unlike the concave reflector where, when acting as the output coupler, the
outer surface has to be polished accurately convex to avoid negative lens
effects. A second advantage of the plane-concave cavity is that those
frequency selective elements (e.g. reflecting gratings, etalons) that are most
readily available, act as planar optical elements and can be conveniently
incorporated in this type of cavity as direct replacements for the flat mirror.
(In this case the output often has to be the curved mirror, with an
appropriately correcting outer surface).
The limitations on the values of R^ and R 2 that are specified in Figure
1.5 indicate the borderlines between stable and unstable configurations. These
A C Walker 9
borderline cavities are not normally used, since small manufacturing errors or
the presence of additional (weak) optical elements inside the cavity (including
lens effects in the gain medium itself) could make them unstable. Within the
unstable region, the resonator becomes highly lossy as the rays diverge to
infinity within a finite number of round trips. Thus for the plane-concave
resonator (Figure 1.5), the plane-plane limit, R t = R 2 = °°s should be avoided,
along with the geometry R 2 = L. The latter case corresponds to the
concentric cavity limit in the symmetric resonator, R t = R 2 = LZ2 (x = 0 in
Figure 1.5), as clearly the plane-concave cavities are simply folded equivalents
of the symmetric variety.
Cavities near the confocal limit R l = R 2 = L (y = 0 in Figure 1.5) are
only unstable if the symmetry is broken. For example, assuming 5 is small,
R l = L + 5, R 2 = L - 5 is unstable, while R l = L + 5, R 2 = L + 5 is
stable. This has no parallel in the plane-concave cavities as these are
inevitably always equivalent to symmetric resonators.
The "focal” symmetric cavity in which the focus ofeach mirror lies on
the surface of the opposing mirror, ie Ri = R 2 = 2L, is the only example of
this type which is not at a stability boundary. In fact it is a highly stable
configuration - well away from the marginal confocal (l?j = R 2 = LZ2) and
plane-plane (R^ = R 2 = °°) resonator geometries.
Besides the cavities discussed above their exist many other geometries that
satisfy the stability condition of equation (1.16). These include the asymmetric
concave mirror combinations and cavities in which one cavity mirror is convex
(R < 0). Such cavities are used relatively rarely.
1.4 DIFFRACTION APPROACH TO STABLE RESONATORS
1.4.1 Gaussian Spherical Waves
The stability conditions derived in the previous section by ray analysis remain
equally valid when diffraction is included. A detailed diffraction analysis shows
that a number of transverse amplitude distributions - transverse modes - can
resonate stably in any one cavity.
Fig 1.6 The variation of field

amplitude, in the transverse
direction for a Gaussian beam.
The lowest order mode - the mode that is confined most strongly near
the optical axis - has a Gaussian amplitude distribution. That is the electric
field amplitude, E, varies in the transverse dimension, r, as:
E = E0 e x p ( - r 2/w 2 ) ( 1 .1 7 )
where E0 is the central amplitude (at r=0) and w is ameasure of the width
of the distribution. Commonly, w is called the spot radius and, as shown in

Figure 1.6, when r=w, E = EQ/e.
Section 1.5 discusses the properties of Gaussian light beams in general.
However, in the context of this resonator discussion, three properties need be
noted immediately:
(i) A plane wave with a Gaussian transverse amplitude distribution (w

= w0) will diverge as it propagates, but will always retain the
Gaussian distribution.
(ii) The divergence can be characterised by the change in w as the
light (wavelength, X) propagates along the z-axis, in either direction
(+z or -z):
v ( z ) = w o [1 + [ 7 % ) 2 V ( 1 - 18)
(iii) The divergence corresponds to the (initially plane) wave-fronts
becoming spherical (again with symmetry about z = 0, w = w0)
with radius of curvature given by:
R (z) = z [ l + [ ^ ] 2] (1.19)
1.4.2 Lowest-Order Mode Diameters in Stable Resonators
From the above properties of Gaussian spherical waves we can deduce the size
of the lowest order transverse mode of any resonator. The relevant boundary
condition is that the wave-front curvature must match the curvature of the
mirror when reflecting from it. In this way it will simply retrace the same
pattern each time it crosses the cavity.
For the symmetric concave cavities, it is clear that the waist of the beam
- the narrowest, plane-wave part of the beam (z = 0, w = wQ) - must be
located at the centre and the mirrors, therefore, at z = ± L /2 (see Figure
1.7). Using equation (1.19), it can then be concluded that the mirror
curvature determines wQ through the relation:
2x1*$ 1 2i
XL
and thus, rearranging: wa = l] ( 1 . 20)
Fig 1.7 A concave-symmetric

cavity with a resonant
Gaussian mode indicated
by the variation of
waist size and
wavefront curvature.
z,=-L/2 z =0 zs= L/2

A C Walker 11
It can be seen that, given a specific resonator length, mirror curvature,

and wavelength, the variation of spot radius throughout the cavity is fully
specified by equations (1.20) and (1.18).
The plane-concave cavities, as noted in the earlier ray analysis, are
effectively folded versions of the symmetric variety. The fact that this is
logically consistent with the wave model is apparent by inspection of Figure
1.7, where it is clear that the plane wave fronts at the mode waist would
perfectly match a plane reflector placed at this point. In this case, assuming
the plane mirror is the output coupler, the waist size corresponds to the
output beam dimension. (The output beam then proceeds to diverge in
exactly the same way as the reflected component which remains inside the
cavity).
In general, wQ is relatively small. For example, for a symmetric stable
cavity with R = 2m, L = 1m and X = 1 fim, equation (1.20) indicates w0 =
0.5mm. This is one of the limitations of a stable cavity operating on a single
transverse mode - it couples poorly to a large cross-section gain medium.
Two possible solutions to this, that are discussed in later chapters, are the
exploitation of unstable cavities with much larger mode volumes or the use of
waveguide resonators in which the gain medium is shrunk to a size equal or
less than the free-space mode dimension.
The general equation for the waist radius in an asymmetric concave
resonator is:
■X ' i ' L(R{ -L) (R2 -L) (R1+R2 -L)-
. 7T . (R1+R2 - 2 L ) 2
which reduces to equation (1.20) when R X=R2. As before, this equation is

derived from the simple assumptions that the resonating mode has a Gaussian
transverse amplitude distribution and that the wave-front curvature must match
the mirror curvature on reflection. Justification of the choice of a Gaussian
mode comes from considering the limitations imposed on the cavity by
equation (1.21). For w0 to be real, the numerator within the second brackets
must be positive, i.e. :
L(RX -L) (R2 -L) (Rx +R2 -L) > 0
Noting that: (R1 +R2 -L ) L /R XR2 = 1 - 0 -L /R x ) ( \ - L / R 2 )
this can be re-written: ( \ - L / R x ) (1 -L /R 2 ) [ 1 - ( \ - L / R x ) (1 -L/R 2 ) ] > 0
which is equivalent to: 0 < ( \ - L / R x ) ( 1 -L /R 2 ) < 1 (1.22)
Thus it is apparent that the stability condition for a Gaussian mode within a
cavity is precisely consistent with that derived from geometric ray analysis -
equation (1.16).
When calculating the lowest order transverse mode geometry for a general
cavity, only the waist dimension - equation (1.21) - and the waist position are
required. The deviation of the latter from the resonator centre, simply
follows from the degree of mirror curvature asymmetry. Thusthe ratio ~ zx/ z 2
(where the subscripts refer to the mirrors 1 and 2) is given by:
7 = ~ (1.23)
z1 Ri - L
Finally, it can be deduced that the beam radii on each mirror are:
= rXRi i * r 71 l i (1.24)
i i J l rJ
rXRn i r l i
0.25)
I i J i Rt +R2 -L i
1.4.3 Fresnel Number and Diffraction Losses
Having determined the dimensions of the lowest order transverse modes, there
remains the question: how large should the mirrors be to avoid significant
losses resulting from light diffracting past their edges? Clearly, such a loss
factor can never be completely zero as all Gaussian-mode irradiance
distributions theoretically extend to infinity.
A useful dimensionless parameter in discussing this aspect of resonators is
the Fresnel number, N:
N = a 2/LX (1.26)
where a refers to the radii of the mirror apertures. N corresponds to the

number of Fresnel zones that fit within the mirror diameter, viewed from the
centre of the opposing mirror, distance L away. The condition N = 1 defines
a length L = a2/X over which a plane wave of radius ay will propagate before
developing strong diffraction rings. It is reasonable to assume therefore that a
cavity of Fresnel number around unity, or greater, will experience minimal
diffraction loss.
A more quantitative approach to this problem uses the equations for the
cavity spot radii from the previous section. For example, the largest spot
radius within a plane-concave resonator (i.e. on the concave mirror) is given
by equation (1.24) with R 2 = <»:
w (1.27)
[ ^ ] ! [ t^ ] ‘
For typical L /R values, the second bracket is of order unity. If N ~ 1, then
XL ~ a2 and hence a = wy?r.
The power loss for a gaussian beam of spot-radius w, reflecting from a
mirror of radius a = w/rr is just 0.2% (see section 1.5.3) and it can therefore
be concluded that the condition N ^ 1 is indeed generally sufficient to ensure
negligible diffraction losses.
Only when the plane-plane cavity condition is approached, L /R 0, does
the final term in equation (1.27) lead to significant round-trip diffraction
losses in an N = 1 cavity. In this regime, where the Gaussian mode volume
ultimately diverges to infinity at R 1 = R 2 = °°, the resonator modes are no
longer Gaussian but are instead determined dominantly by the mirror
A C Walker 13
dimensions. In practice, whatever the cavity parameters, if a significant part

of the ideal Gaussian mode extends beyond the mirror radii (or any other
limiting aperture) the mode that actually oscillates is a truncated Gaussian with
somewhat lower loss than might otherwise be expected.
1.4.4 Higher O rder Transverse Modes And Their Suppression
As already indicated, the fundamental Gaussian mode is only the lowest-order

of a set of spherical-wave transverse modes that all match the resonator
stability requirements. The higher-order modes also propagate with fixed
amplitude distribution imposed on (diverging/converging) spherical wave-fronts,
with identical curvature to the Gaussian mode. However, the power
distribution across a specific wave-front has a greater transverse extent than
the Gaussian. The higher-order modes can be described: (i) in a rectangular
coordinate system by products of the Gaussian function with Hermite
polynomials (Hermite-Gaussian modes), or (ii) in a cylindrical coordinate
system by products of the Gaussian function and Laguerre polynomials
(Laguerre-Gaussian modes). The two descriptions are formally equivalent.
The transverse irradiance distributions that these functions describe are
multi-lobed; i.e. they correspond to a series of separated spots (or rings)
spread symmetrically about the z-axis in both transverse directions (x and y).
The number of zero-irradiance points (i.e. gaps between spots) corresponds to
the order of the underlying polynomial function and is used to label each
mode. This is done with two subscripts, thus: T E M mn - where m and n
identify the mode order for each independent transverse coordinate (x and y,
retangular; or r and 0, cylindrical). TEM refers to the mode being a
free-space transverse electromagnetic wave. Thus the lowest order (Gaussian)
mode is labelled TEM00. Sometimes a third subscript *q* is added -
corresponding to the longitudinal mode number; i.e. the number of
half-wavelengths within the cavity. This is rarely of any significance in
cavities greater than a few X in length, as it is a very large, and usually
uncertain, number.
Full descriptions of the different higher-order mode distributions are
available in most basic texts on lasers. These details, however, are of little
practical value for two reasons. Firstly, non-Gaussian mode outputs from real
(stable) lasers are generally complex super-positions of the modes forming
these basic sets, with the final distribution actually determined by various
minor details of the cavity/gain-medium construction (Chapters 9 and 10
describe ways of handling the propagation of multimode laser beams.)
Secondly, the higher-order modes are usually not wanted and in most laser
designs, efforts are made to actively suppress them.
This latter objective follows from the usual desire to exploit the basic
uniqueness of a laseras a light source with high spatial and temporal
coherence. Because they have the same wave-front curvature as the
fundamental Gaussian, but with a larger cross-sectional area, the higher-order
modes have a lower radiance (W m“ 2 Sr-1) at a given power level. This
reduced spatial coherence is a result of the multi-phased nature of the
higher-order modes - adjacent lobes being t out of phase with each other.
The axial Gaussian mode, by contrast, is uni-phase. The higher order modes
also exhibit different cavity round-trip phase changes as a result of fractionally
higher phase velocities. Thus, when more than one transverse mode is
oscillating, the laser output is notsingle frequency (even if it is nominally
single longitudinal mode) and thus temporal coherence is degraded.
The degree by which the higher-order modes deviate in frequency from
the TEM qq^ axial mode is given by:
Avrxm ~ P(m+n) ^ (1.28)
where 0 = ( 1 / T) c o s '1 (±[ ( 1 - L / ^ ) ( 1 -L /R 2 ) ] i ) (1.29)
Because 0 lies in the range 0 to 1, the higher-order transverse modes can be

spaced apart anywhere between the longitudinal mode spacing, Avq = c/2nL
(when R i+R2 = L), down to small fractions of Afq (when R x = R 2 > > L).
The higher-order transverse modes are usually suppressed by including a
restrictive aperture of some sort in the cavity: e.g. a small diameter cavity
mirror or an iris. Sometimes the gain medium itself (i.e. the laser rod or
discharge tube) will restrict the higher order modes by its small size - but this
may also lead to unwanted waveguide effects if not designed properly. The
purpose of this aperture is to introduce significant losses for the non-axial
modes, while leaving the round-trip loss of the axial T E M qq mode little
changed. This is possible because the higher-order modes extend further in
the transverse direction than the TEM00 mode.
The simplest experimental approach to finding the optimum aperture size
which just prevents the higher-modes from oscillating (i.e. while not
significantly attenuating the axial mode), is to vary an adjustable iris by trial
and error. (Indeed many commercial lasers include such a variable aperture.)
Alternatively, detailed diffraction calculations can be carried out numerically.
The latter show that the optimum mode selection aperture, aA>is such as to
give the typical resonator a Fresnel number around unity:
aA - ( L \ ) i (1.30)
For a cylindrically symmetric cavity with ( l - L / R ^ l - L / R ^ = 0.5 and N = 1,

calculations by H.Kogelnik and T. Li show that the TEM qq mode has a
round trip loss of only ~ 2% while the TEM01 mode experiences ~ 20%
diffraction loss. For a cavity near oscillation threshold this difference can be
sufficient to totally suppress the higher modes.
1.5 PROPERTIES OF GAUSSIAN BEAMS
1.5.1 The Paraxial Wave Equation and the Complex Beam Parameter.
Any electromagnetic wave propagating in free-space must satisfy the scalar

equation:
V2 E + k2 E = 0 (1.31)
where the electric field E is an oscillatory function of time and also varying
in space and where k=2%l\ is the wave vector. There are an infinite number
of possible solutions to this equation, dependent upon the boundary conditions
Another random document with
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may be bought for 2 cents a pound or less, whereas an iron of
Silicon < .02

Phosphorus < .01
Sulphur trace
can hardly be bought for less than 5 cents a pound.
This difference of three cents a pound is justifiable when the
highest grade of tool-steel is to be made; and it would be silly to
require any such material in any spring, machinery, or structural
steel.
In addition to these impurities there are other difficulties to be
guarded against, chief among which is an uneven distribution of
elements.
In all steel there is some segregation; that is to say, as the liquid
metal freezes, the elements are to some extent squeezed out and
collected in that part of the ingot which congeals last. It is claimed
that in the Bessemer and Open-hearth processes any ferro-silicon
added to quiet a heat, or any ferro-manganese added to remove
oxygen, are at once absorbed and distributed through the mass, and
so when any serious irregularity is discovered it is charged to
segregation.
A heat may produce billets of 75 carbon and 120 carbon, and
again it is called segregation.
As a rule, inertia has more to do with such differences than
segregation. One crucible of steel may produce an ingot containing
90 carbon and 130 carbon. Segregation has nothing to do with this:
a careless mixer has put a heavy lump of 140- or 150-carbon steel in
the bottom of the pot and covered it up with iron. The steel melted
first and settled in the bottom of the pot, the iron melted later and
settled on top of the steel, and they did not mix. The teeming was not
sufficient to cause a thorough mixing.
Segregation covers a multitude of sins.
Exactly how much is sin and how much is segregation will not be
known until analyses are made of the top, middle, and bottom of the
bath, and of the contents of the ladle, these to be compared to
analyses of the top, bottom, and middle of the ingots. There is
certainly an unavoidable amount of segregation, and as equally
certain an amount of curable irregularity due to inertia.
WILD HEATS.
After steel is melted, whether in a crucible, an open hearth, or a
Bessemer vessel, it boils with more or less violence. This boiling is
caused by ebullition of gases, and if steel be poured into moulds
while it is boiling the resulting ingot will be found to be honeycombed
to an extent that is governed by the degree of the boiling.
If a heat boils violently and persistently, it is said to be “wild,” and
if a wild heat be teemed the ingots will be honeycombed completely;
such ingots cannot be worked into thoroughly sound steel, and no
melter who has any regard for his work will teem a wild heat if he
knows it.
To stop the boiling is called “dead-melting,” “killing” the steel, so
that it shall be quiet in the furnace and in the moulds.
A crucible-steel maker who knows his business can, and he will,
always dead-melt his steel. It only requires a few minutes of
application of a heat a little above melting temperature, and this can
be applied by a skilled melter without burning his crucible or cutting
down his furnace; this is indeed about all of the art there is in
crucible-melting, the remaining operations being easy and simple.
Dead-melting in the Bessemer vessel is not possible by increase
of time; wild heats are managed differently, probably by adding
manganese or silicon, or both, but exactly how is not within the
author’s experience.
Dead-melting in the open hearth would appear at first sight to be
always possible, but there are more difficulties in the way than in the
case of crucible-melting.
The heat may be wild when the right carbon is reached, and then
the melter must use a little ferro-silicon, or silico-spiegel, or highly
silicious pig, or aluminum, and he must use good judgment so as not
to have his steel overdosed with any of these. From half an ounce to
an ounce of aluminum to a ton of steel is usually sufficient, and
although any considerable content of aluminum is injurious to steel
there is little danger of its being added, because of its cost, and
because a little too much aluminum will cause the ingots to pipe from
top to bottom.
Silicon seems to be the most kindly element to use, and it is
claimed that a content of silicon as high as 20 is not injurious; some
people claim that it is beneficial. That it does help materially in the
production of sound steel there can be no doubt, and if such steel
meets all of the requirements of the engineer and of practice it would
seem to be wise not to place the upper limit for silicon so low as to
prevent its sufficient use in securing soundness. But the author
cannot concede that as much as 20 silicon is necessary. In crucible
practice high silicon is not necessary; in “melting-iron,” or iron to be
melted, it means so much dirt, indicating careless workmanship; but
there will always be a little silicon present which the steel has
absorbed from the walls of the crucible during the operation of
melting. In high tool-steel silicon should be at the lowest minimum
that is attainable.
This discussion of wild heats may appear to be outside of the
scope of this work, and to belong exclusively to the art of
manufacturing steel, of which this book does not pretend to treat.
This is true so far that it is not recommended that the engineer shall
meddle in any way with the manufacturer in the management of his
work; on the other hand, it is vital to the engineer that he should
know about it, because wild steel may hammer or roll perfectly well,
it may appear to be sound, but the author cannot believe that it is
ever sound and reliable.
Again, it has a scientific interest; that wildness is due to too much
gas, and probably to carbon-gas, may be shown by an illustration.
It has its parallel in the rising of the iron in a puddling-furnace at
the close of the boil, a phenomenon with which every one is familiar
who has watched a heat being boiled or puddled. That all of the iron
does not run out of the puddling-furnace at this stage is owing to the
fact that there is not heat enough in the puddling-furnace to keep the
iron liquid after it has been decarbonized.
During the running of a basic open-hearth furnace an apparently
dead heat was tapped; before the steel reached the ladle there was
a sort of explosion; the steel was blown all over the shop, the men
had to run for their lives, and not one tenth of the steel reached the
ladle. The manager was rated roundly for carelessness in not having
dried his spout, and the incident closed. A few days later another
quiet heat was tapped and it ran into the ladle; about the time the
ladle was full the steel rose rapidly, like a beaten egg or whipped
cream, and ran out on to the floor, cutting the sides of the ladle, the
ladle-chains, and the crane-beams as it flowed. The men ran, and
there was no injury to the person.
Again the manager was blamed, this time for having a damp
ladle, and he was notified of an impending dismissal if such a thing
occurred again. He protested that he knew the ladle and the stopper
were red-hot, that he had examined them personally and carefully,
and knew he stated the truth.
There were several reasons for looking into the matter farther:
first, the man in charge was known to be truthful and careful, so that
there was no reason for doubting his word; second, if the vessel and
rod were red-hot, there could be no aqueous moisture there; and,
finally, such an ebullition from dampness was contrary to experience,
as a small quantity of water under a mass of molten iron, or slag,
results almost invariably in a violent explosion, like that of
gunpowder or dynamite.
Upon inquiry it was found that prior to both ebullitions there had
been a large hole in the furnace-bottom, requiring about a peck of
material to fill it in each case. Magnesite was used; the magnesite
was bought raw, and burned in the place. It is well known that it
takes a long time and high heat to drive carbonic acid out of
magnesite, and it was surmised that insufficient roasting might have
caused the trouble. Samples of burned and of raw magnesite were
sent to the laboratory, and the burned was found to contain about as
much carbonic acid as the raw magnesite. Then the case seemed
clear: This heavily charged magnesite was packed into the hole; the
heat was charged and melted. The magnesite held the carbonic acid
until near the close of the operation; then the intense heat of the
steel forced the release of the gas, which was at once absorbed by
the steel. Owing to the superincumbent weight of the steel the gas
was absorbed quietly, and when the weight was removed the gas
escaped, exactly as it does at the close of puddling or in the frothing
of yeast.
Whether the carbonic acid remained such, or whether it took up
an equivalent of carbon and became carbonic oxide, and then again
took up oxygen from the bath, and so kept on increasing in volume,
is not known.
The facts seem clear, and the collateral proof is that thorough
burning of the magnesite, and of any dolomite that was used,
prevented a recurrence of any such accidents.
Such ebullitions have occurred and caused the burning to death
of pitmen, and the statement of the above case may be of use to
melters in the future who have not met such an experience.
OXYGEN AND NITROGEN.

Oxygen and nitrogen are present in all steel and both are
injurious, probably the most so of all impurities.
The oxides of iron are too well known to need discussion or
description; they are the iron ores mixed with gangue. They are
brittle, friable, hard, and weak, like sandstones. Mixed in steel they
can be nothing but weakeners, elements of disintegration. Let any
one take a handful of scale—or rust—oxide of iron, in his fingers and
crumble it, and it will be difficult for him to imagine how such material
could be anything but harmful when incorporated in steel. Langley
has shown, and other scientists have confirmed him, that oxygen
may exist in iron in solution, and not as oxide; the discovery was
attended with the assertion that such dissolved oxygen produced
excessive red-shortness. The proof that red-shortness was caused
in this way was completed by the removal of the oxygen from some
extremely red-short steel; the red-shortness disappeared with the
oxygen and the steel worked perfectly.
When steel is melted very low in carbon, by any process, it is
certain to be red-short and rotten unless the greatest care be used to
prevent the introduction of oxygen. Crucible-steel of 15 carbon or
less will as a rule be red-short and cold-short; it will not weld, and is
generally thoroughly worthless. The same material melted to contain
18 to 25 carbon will be tough and waxlike, hot or cold. It will weld
easily into tubes, and may be stamped cold into almost any desired
shape.
Bessemer or open-hearth steel of less than 8 carbon is almost
certain to be equally worthless, whereas the same material blown or
melted not below 10 or 12 carbon, and re-carbonized not above 20,
will be tough and good at any heat under granulation, and equally
good and tough when cold.
As to Bessemer steel, the author cannot say whether it would be
possible to stop the blow between 10 and 15 carbon or not, but it
seems certain that if there be no overblowing red-shortness and
cold-shortness may be avoided by carbonizing back to about 15 by
the use of manganese or silicon, or both together.
In the open hearth it is always possible to stop the melt at 10
carbon, and to deoxidize the heat so as to avoid shortness, and not
to go above 20 carbon. Such steel will be sound and tough; it will
weld and stamp perfectly, and will be satisfactory for all reasonable
requirements.
The reason of this seems to be simple and plain: In melting or
blowing out the last fractions of carbon below 10 to 15 the same
quantity of air per second or minute must be used as when burning
out the higher quantities, and now there is so little carbon to be
attacked that the oxygen necessarily attacks the iron in greater and
greater force as the carbon decreases.
This leaves an excess of oxygen in the steel which cannot be
removed by the ordinary quantities of silicon, or manganese, or
aluminum.
If more manganese or silicon be used, the red-shortness and
weakness can be cured largely; but then the carbon is raised
considerably, and thus the steel is brought up to where it would have
been without this excessive decarbonizing, with the difference that it
is not quite so strong.
What good is there, then, in extremely low melting?
It must be admitted that there are tough, good-working steels in
the market of carbon < 5, manganese < 20. They are made in small
furnaces, worked with great care; the product is expensive, and,
unless it is wanted to be welded in place of common wrought iron, it
is in no case as good as well-made steel of 12 to 20 carbon; even for
welding the latter is superior if the worker will only be satisfied to
work at a lemon instead of a scintillating heat.
These special cases do not militate against the general fact that
extremely low steel is usually red-short and weak.
The above is written for the consideration of those engineers who
think they are going safe when they prescribe low tensile strength
and excessive ductility. If these requirements meant the reception of
pure, or nearly pure, iron, indicated by the low tenacity and high
stretch, then they would be wise; but if they result, as they almost
certainly do, in initially good material rotted by overdoses of oxygen
the wisdom may not be so apparent.
NITROGEN.
The real influence of nitrogen is not known to the author. Percy
shows that nitrogenized iron is hard, exceedingly friable, and causes
a brilliant, brassy lustre. He also says nitrogen is driven out at a
yellow heat; doubtless this is true of the excess of nitrogen, but it has
been shown in Chapter II that melting in a crucible will not drive the
nitrogen out of Bessemer steel.
When crucible-steel not made from Bessemer scrap and
Bessemer steel of equal analysis are compared in the tempered
condition, there is almost invariably a yellowish tinge over the fresh
Bessemer fracture which distinguishes it from the crucible-steel. The
Bessemer steel is also the weaker. These differences are believed to
be due to nitrogen.
Langley maintains his belief that oxygen is still the chief mischief-
maker; the author believes nitrogen to be the more potent of the two;
there is no known way to remove the nitrogen, and there the
question stands.
ELEMENTS OF DISINTEGRATION.
It has been stated time and again that these impurities are
elements of disintegration, and that it would be wise in every case to
restrict the quantities allowable within reasonable limits, giving the
steel-maker sufficient leeway to enable him to work efficiently and
economically, and at the same time to keep the quantities of these
impurities as low as possible.
On the other hand, able, successful, and conservative engineers
have claimed that if the steel-maker meets their physical
requirements as shown by prescribed tests they, the engineers,
should be satisfied; that they should not interfere with chemical
composition, as they had no fear of subsequent disintegrations.
This argument was answered by the statement that skilled steel-
workers could manipulate poor steel so as to bring it up to the
requirements; that the well-trained workers in the bridge-shops
would not abuse the steel; that the inherent deficiencies would not
be developed; the work would go out apparently satisfactory; and
that it might remain so for a long time, in the absence of unusual
shocks or strains, but that in an emergency such material might fail
because of deterioration where a purer material would have held on.
In the absence of proofs such statements have been met with a
smile of incredulity.
Fortunately some proofs are now at hand, and as the method of
getting them has been obtained, more will follow from time to time.
In Engineering, Jan. 17, 1896, Mr. Thomas Andrews, F.R.S.,
M.Inst.C.E., gives the following cases:
A fracture of a rail into many pieces, causing a serious accident.
A broken propeller-shaft which nearly caused a disastrous
accident.
Analysis of the rail:
Carbon 0.440
Silicon 0.040
Manganese 0.800
Sulphur 0.100
Phosphorus 0.064
It is clear that the sulphur is excessive, and that it was neutralized
so as to make the steel workable by an excess of manganese.
Of the propeller-shaft Mr. Andrews says chemical analysis of
outside and central portions of the shaft showed serious segregation.
“The percentage of combined carbon was nearly 50 per cent
greater in the inside of the shaft than on the outside; the manganese
was also in excess in the inside of the shaft; the phosphorus and
sulphur had also segregated in the interior of the shaft to nearly
three times the percentage of these elements found near the outside
of the shaft.”
Unfortunately Mr. Andrews does not give the analysis of the
shaft.
A number of micro-sections of the rail and of the shaft were made
and examined.
“Numerous micro-sulphur flaws were found, varying in size from
0.015 inch downward, interspersed or segregated in the
intercrystalline junctions of the ultimate crystals of the steel, and
being located in such a manner as to prevent metallic cohesion
between the facets of the crystals, thus inducing lines of internal
weakness liable to be acted upon by the stress and strain of actual
wear.”
The dimensions of these flaws in the rail varied from .0150 ×
.0012 to .0010 × .0004 parts of an inch.
In the shaft from .0160 × .0030 to .0020 × .0016 parts of an inch.
In the rail he found as many as 14 flaws in an area of only
0.00018 square inch, equal to nearly 60,000 flaws per square inch.
In the shaft he found as many as 34 flaws in an area of only
0.00018 square inch, equal to nearly 190,000 per square inch.
In speaking of the shaft he says: “In addition to blow-holes, air-
cavities, etc., the interior of the shaft was literally honeycombed with
micro-sulphide of iron flaws, which were meshed about and around
the primary crystals of the metal in every direction.” “The deleterious
effects of an excess of manganese in interfering with the normal
crystallization of the normal carbide of iron areas were also
perceptible.”
As the number of micro-sulphur flaws in the shaft were about
three times as many as in the rail, we may assume that the shaft
contained at least as large a percentage of sulphur as the rail, and,
owing to the general honeycombed structure, it would not be a far
guess to assume that the steel was teemed wild.
“The deleterious effect of these treacherous sulphur areas and
other microscopic flaws, with their prolonged ramifications spreading
along the intercrystalline spaces of the ultimate crystals of the metal
and destroying metallic cohesion, will be easily understood.”
“Constant vibration gradually loosens the metallic adherence of
the crystals, especially in areas where these micro-flaws exist.
Cankering by internal corrosion and disintegration is induced
whenever the terminations of any of the sulphide areas or other
flaws in any way become exposed at the surface of the metal, either
to the action of sea-water, or atmospheric or other oxidizing
influences. In many other ways, also, it will be seen how deleterious
is their presence.”
“Internal micro-flaws of various character are nevertheless almost
invariably present in masses of steel, and constitute sources of initial
weakness which not unfrequently produce those mysterious and
sudden fractures of steel axles, rails, tires, and shafts productive of
such calamitous results. A fracture once commencing at one of
these micro-flaws (started probably by some sudden shock or
vibration, or owing to the deterioration caused by fatigue in the
metal) runs straight through a steel forging on the line of least
resistance, in a similar manner to the fracture of glass or ice.”
It is understood that similar investigations are being carried out
on an extensive scale by Prof. Arnold; in the meantime the above
cases should satisfy any one that these impurities are elements of
disintegration, and that the less there are of them in any steel the
better for the steel.
It seems clear that if 10 sulphur will cause 60,000 flaws per
square inch, 01 sulphur ought not to cause more than one tenth of
that number; or, if an equal number, then they could only be one
tenth of the size.
The segregation found in the shaft is so excessive that it would
seem probable that there was a good deal of sin there also; but,
even if it were unavoidable segregation, the harm would have been
just so much the less if there had been less of total impurities
present to segregate.
ARSENIC.
Arsenic is known to be very harmful in tool-steel, and it is proper
to assume that it can do no good in structural steel. In any case
where the properties of steel do not come up to the standard to be
expected from the regular analysis examination should be made for
arsenic, antimony, copper, etc. These are not as universal
constituents of steel as silicon, phosphorus, sulphur, and
manganese, but they are present frequently, and in any appreciable
amount they are bad.
XI.
THEORIES OF HARDENING.
The hardening of steel is such a marked phenomenon, and one

of so great importance, that it has always attracted a great deal of
attention, and many theories have been put forward in explanation.
Before chemistry was brought to bear upon the subject the
proposed theories were based upon assumption, and as there were
no proofs one had as much right to consideration as another, and
none seemed to be altogether satisfactory.
Since science has taken up the question the theories are about
as numerous as the investigators, and while no one can claim as yet
to have settled the matter definitely, each one has an apparent basis
of reason deduced from observed facts.
Among early observations it was noted that when unhardened
steel and hardened steel were dissolved in acid a much larger
amount of carbon was found in the solution of the unhardened than
in that of the hardened steel. This led, first, to the distinction of
combined carbon and graphitic carbon, a distinction that has been
maintained through subsequent investigations. It seems to be well
established now that there is a definite carbide of iron, Fe₃C, and
some observers believe it to be the hard substance in hardened
steel.
Following this came the announcement that these conditions,
combined and graphitic carbon, represented two different forms of
carbon, and they were designated as cement carbon and hardening
carbon; also as non-hardening and hardening carbon. Later
investigation having established the existence of the carbide Fe₃C,
this was claimed to be the hard body, but this has not met universal
acceptance.
Another investigator, studying by means of the pyrometer and
observing heat phenomena, concludes that hardening is due to an
allotropic condition of the iron itself; that when iron is heated above
the recalescent-point, and presumably below granulation, it becomes
in itself excessively hard; that sudden cooling prevents its changing
from this form, and so, when there is carbon present, the result of
quenching is great hardness.
When steel is allowed to cool slowly to below recalescence, the
iron assumes another form, and one which cannot be hardened by
quenching; this latter is known as α iron, and the hardening kind as β
iron. A later investigator finds it necessary to have a third allotropic
form to meet some of the phenomena, which he designates by
another Greek letter.
Another investigator establishes independently the saturation-
point, which was pointed out and published twenty years ago, viz.,
somewhere about 90 to 100 carbon; he fixes the saturation-point at
89 carbon and gives the formula Fe₂₄C. He assumes that this is an
exceedingly unstable carbide, that it is formed between recalescence
and granulation, and can only be fixed by quenching, and that when
steel is quenched the fixing of this carbide is the cause of hardness.
A still later investigation establishes this saturation-point at about
100 carbon by observing that in hardened steel of 135 carbon there
is a combination of 100 carbon which is the excessively hard part of
the steel, and a portion containing the remaining 35 parts of carbon
that is not quite so hard, and he suggests a fourth allotropic form to
cover this part.
It is also suggested that steel should be considered and treated
as an igneous rock; judging from the appearance of magnified micro-
sections, this suggestion appears to be a happy one for the purpose
of making comparisons.
The above theories of hardening, and others, are not to be
regarded as antagonistic or contradictory, doubtless there are germs
of truth in every one of them, or each one may be merely the
individual’s way of suggesting an explanation of the same observed
phenomena, so that when a final conclusion is reached each may be
found to have been travelling in the same direction by a different
path. It is certain that able, patient, painstaking, men are working
faithfully to produce a solution of the problem, and even if their ideas,
as briefly given above, do seem to be contradictory it would only
evince deeper ignorance and a stupid mind in any who should
attempt to ridicule or unduly criticise honest work before it is
completed. While these investigations are going on, and before any
definite conclusion is reached, is there any well-established safe
ground for the steel-worker and the engineer to stand upon? There
certainly is a good working hypothesis for all to use, and one which it
is believed will always be the right one to follow no matter what the
final explanation of the remarkable phenomena of hardening,
tempering, and annealing may prove to be.
After many years of careful experimenting and study Prof. J. W.
Langley came to the conclusion that no matter what the final result
might be as to carbides, allotropic conditions, etc., that if steel were
considered as iron containing carbon in solution, whether it were a
chemical combination or a mere solution, and that cold steel be
regarded as a congealed liquid in a state of tension, then all known
phenomena could be accounted for, and all known conditions could
be produced with certainty by well-known applications of heat and
force.
When carbon is in the so-called combined condition, then the
solution maybe compared to pure sea-water; when the carbon is
partly combined and partly graphitic, the solution may be compared
to muddy sea-water, the mud representing the graphitic carbon.
When the carbon is practically all graphitic, as in over-annealed
steel, then the solution may be compared to thoroughly muddy fresh
water.
This hypothesis of solution agrees well with the saturation noted;
then about 100 carbon is all that iron will dissolve without extraneous
force; and higher carbon must be forced into solution by the work of
hammers, presses, or rolls.
This gives reason to the experienced tool-maker’s well-known
preference for well-hammered steel.
The hypothesis of tension, probably molecular, covers all of the
phenomena of excessive hardness due to high heat, which means
high molecular motion checked violently by sudden quenching. It
accounts for the progressive softening due to every added degree of
heat, and it accounts for rupture, cracking, due to excessive heat or
to any unevenness of heat.
Without this hypothesis of tension it is difficult to understand why
quenching should rupture a piece of steel, no matter what the degree
of heat, or how uneven it might be.
Without it, too, it is hard to see how successive additions of heat
can cause gradual changes from β to α iron, or from an unstable
carbide to an imperfect solution. It would seem that the allotropic
changes, or the decompositions of carbides, must be more marked
than the gradual changes from hard to soft which we know to take
place by slow and gentle accretions of heat.
There is no property of steel known to the author which is not
covered by Langley’s hypothesis, and therefore it is put forward with
confidence for engineers and steel-users to work by until the
scientists shall have completed their investigations, and after that it
is believed that it will be a safe working hypothesis, because science
does not change facts, it only collates them and reveals the laws of
action.
Under this hypothesis of Langley’s we may define hardness as
tension, softness as absence of tension.
This is not stated as established fact; it is given as a simple
definition to cover the known phenomena until the final solution of
the problem shall lead to a better explanation.
Regarding steel as a solution of carbon in iron, one important fact
may be set down as established thoroughly: that is, that the more
perfect the solution under all circumstances the better the steel.
Continued application of heat in any part of the plastic condition
allows carbon to separate out of solution into a condition of mere
mixture; it converts the clear sea-water into muddy water; this is the
reason why so much emphasis has been given in previous chapters
to the harmfulness of long-continued heating.
In every case, when steel is hot enough for the purpose desired,
it should be removed at once from the fire.
XII.
INSPECTION.
Careful and systematic inspection is of the utmost importance

from the first operation of melting to the last act of the finisher.
Assuming that every operator is honest and conscientious in the
performance of his work, the personal equation must be considered,
as well as the exigencies of the many operations. The steel-maker
must inspect his ingots to see that they are melted well and teemed
properly, that they are sound and clean, and to determine their
proper temper.
When work is finished, he must inspect it to see that it has been
worked at proper, even heats, that it is correct in dimensions, and
that all pipes and seams have been cut out. After all this has been
done faithfully it were well that his work were done when it were well
done. Such is not his happy lot; every successive manipulator may
ruin the steel by carelessness or ignorance, and it is a gala day for a
steel-maker when he does not receive some sample of stupid
ignorance or gross carelessness, with an intimation that it would be
well for him to learn how to make steel before he presumed to offend
by sending out such worthless material. And sometimes, though not
so often if he knows his business, he finds a complaint well founded;
then he must regulate his own household and make his peace with
his angry customer as best he can.
The engineer must inspect his steel to see that it is sound, and
clean, and finished properly, as he has a right to expect that it should
be.
It is not intended here to lay down rules for shop and field
inspection,—that is an art in itself outside of the function or the
experience of a steel-maker,—but some hints may be given as to the
examination of steel as it comes from the mill, and it has been the
aim in previous chapters to give such information as may enable an
engineer to form a good judgment as to matters which are not likely
to come to his knowledge in the course of ordinary practice.
Steel should be sound; it should be examined before it is oiled or
painted. All pipe should be cut off; a pipe of any considerable size
will show in the end of a sheared bar, and a careful observer will
soon learn to detect it. If there is reason to suspect a pipe, file the
place and the pipe will be revealed if it is there. Do not chip at it, for a
chisel will often smooth a line which a file will bring out. In tool-steel
there should not only be no pipe, there should be no star left in the
bar. A “star” is a bright spot which shows the last of the pipe, not
quite cut away; the steel is not solid in the star and it will not make a
good cutting-edge; it may even cause a sledge to split.
SEAMS.
In tool-steel there should be no seams at all. Some makers
declare that in high steel, seams are evidences of good quality; such
a statement is the veriest fraud; it is hard to get any high steel free
from seams, and therefore if the maker can get the user to believe
that a seam is a good thing he can enhance his profit; that is, he can
enhance it for a time until his fraud is understood.
Some seams are hard to see; when there is reason to suspect
one, a little filing across the line will show it in a distinct black line if it
is there. A file is an indispensable tool for an inspector, better than a
chisel or a grindstone.
In machinery and structural steel a few small seams may be
unobjectionable; too close inspection may lead to unnecessary cost
without a compensating gain; still every engineer should reserve the
right to determine what seams are allowable and what are not, for
his own safety.
Laps should not be tolerated in any work.
Torn cracks on edges or surface indicate burned steel or red-
short steel; they should not be allowed.
The grain of steel should be practically uniform, not too coarse,
not with brilliant lustre, nor with a dark india-ink tint. With an even
fine grain, a bright lustre may indicate a mild steel not worked badly.
Inspectors must learn by practice what is tolerable and what is not,
as it is impossible to lay down hard and fast rules; it is safe, however,
to say that a fairly fine grain of even texture, not much lustre, and no
india-ink shade, is indicative of good heating and proper working.
With these few general hints the subject must be left, for, like
tempering, inspecting is an art in itself, and it cannot be taught in a
book.
An expert inspector will see seams and pipes with his naked eye
that a novice could not detect with an ordinary magnifying-glass.
It may do no harm to the inspector to suggest to him that
amiability and good sense are the best ingredients to mix with sound
judgment.
If he will cultivate these, and learn to distinguish between a mere
blemish and a real defect, he will find his work made easy and
pleasant; and he will be far less likely to have bad work thrust at him
than he will if he makes it apparent that he regards himself as the
only honest man.

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The Physics and Technology of Laser

Resonators First Edition Hall

The Physics of Laser Plasmas and Applications Volume 1

Optics Photonics and Laser Technology Paulo A. Ribeiro

Optics Photonics and Laser Technology 2017 Paulo

Laser Experiments for Chemistry and Physics 1st Edition

Laser Technology Applications in Adhesion and Related

The Physics of Solar Energy Conversion First Edition

Handbook of Laser Technology and Applications Volume 1

Advances in Laser Materials Processing Technology

D R H all and P E Jackson

D epartm ent o f Physics,

Taylor & Francis is an im print of the

© 1989 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

No claim to original U.S. Government works

International Standard Book Number-10: 0-85274-117-0 (Hardcover)

Consultant Editor: Professor W. T. W elford, Imperial College, London

L ibrary o f Congress C ataloging-in-Publication Data

Catalog record is available from the Library of Congress

Visit the Taylor & Francis Web site at

List of Contributors xii

PART ONE FUNDAMENTALS RESONATOR

Laser Resonators and Gaussian Beams 1

2.10 Mode Control in Short Galn-LIfe Lasers 34

3 Theory of Waveguide Laser Resonators 40

4 Ring Laser Resonators 62

5 Multifold Laser Resonators 80

6 Resonators with. Variable Reflectivity Mirrors 94

7 Numerical Resonator Calculations 106

8 Frequency Stabilisation of Lasers 117

8.2 Laser Frequency Fluctuations 118

9 Propagation of Multimode Laser Beams - The M2 Factor 132

10 Laser Beam Analysis by Geometrical Optics 143

11 YAG laser Resonator Technology 154

12 Resonators for Dye Lasers and Optical

13 Resonators for High Power CQ2 Lasers 176

14 Diode Laser Resonators 190

14.3 Diode Laser Structures 191

15 Diode Pumped Solid State Laser Resonators 198

16 Fibre Laser Resonators 209

17 CO2 Waveguide Laser Resonators 220

18 Extimer Laser Resonators 232

M J ADAMS British Telecom Research Laboratories, Martlesham

Part Two of the book is devoted to discussion of the principles of laser

Edinburgh Denis R Hall and Paul E Jackson

1.2 THE FABRY-PEROT RESONATOR

joining the two mirrors, in a manner determined by their detailed

(i) the phase of the optical wave-front

The consequence of each of these conditions can be considered in turn.

In order for the phase to be reproduced on each round-trip, such as to

For a conventional Fabry-Perot interferometer the spectral width of each mode

If the loss is replaced by gain and the cavity operated as a cw laser,

If the background absorptance (loss) is A t and the output coupler

Transverse Amplitude Profile

1.3 GEOMETRIC RAY ANALYSIS OF OPTICAL RESONATORS

Although ultimately it is diffraction which causes finite diameter light beams to

1.3.1. Ray Transfer Matrices

A generalized ray of light in an optical system, passing through a specific

The overall effect on a ray entering an optical system can be computed

1.3.2 Stability Conditions for an Open Resonator

such as focusing lenses, dielectric gain-media, plane windows,

where, s i n 0 = [1 - \(A+D)2 ] i (1.14)

and D are all real, the stability criterion is then: