Lasers with super-Gaussian mirrors

A systematic theoretical and experimental investigation of unstable resonators with variable reflectivity mirrors of a super-Gaussian profile is presented. The validity of a geometrical optics formalism for an algebraic mode calculation is discussed in comparison to the diffraction theory. A new method for the calculation of the output energy by means of a closed-form relationship that accounts for the effects of the transverse mode profile on gain saturation is presented. Various dielectric super-Gaussian mirrors have been fabricated, characterized, and tested in a pulsed Nd:YAG laser. Super-Gaussian resonators can provide even higher output energies than those of traditional unstable resonators and with better beam-focusing properties. >

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