The Geometric Theory of Roof Reflector Resonators
Abstract
Laser resonators using roof reflectors with 90 deg - alpha roof angles ( alpha small and positive) are analyzed geometrically when the roof edges at opposite ends of the resonator are aligned either parallel or perpendicular (crossed). Stability conditions, involving reflector dimensions, are found which specify a maximum axis length for the existence of stable rays. In the parallel-roof case, stable rays are shown to be ring-type, making any given number of round-trips before spatially repeating. Stable rays in the crossed-roof case are superpositions of two parallel-roof ray patterns in orthogonal planes. For any pattern, the reflector roof edges are shown to be geometrically excluded when the axis length is greater than one-half the maximum length for that pattern. It is then predicted that when the roof edges are excluded, the resonant modes are pure Gaussian.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Dec 01, 1976
- Accession Number
- ADA034283
Entities
People
- Howard Elmus Evans Ii
Organizations
- Air Force Institute of Technology