SELF‐PULSING IN THE He–Cd LASER

Observation of self‐pulsing in a helium‐cadmium laser is reported in which two running pulses are present inside the cavity. The beat frequency between the two pulses is more stable as the number of modes is decreased, and is very regular at about 8 kHz when only two modes are present within each of the two main spectral peaks of the natural‐cadmium active medium.