Unidirectional operation of ring lasers via the acoustooptic effect

Author

Clarkson, W.A. ; Neilson, A.B. ; Hanna, D.C.

Author_Institution

Optoelectron. Res. Centre, Southampton Univ., UK

Volume

32

Issue

2

fYear

1996

fDate

2/1/1996 12:00:00 AM

Firstpage

311

Lastpage

325

Abstract

Two different techniques are described for enforcing unidirectional operation of a ring laser using the acoustooptic effect. A simple quantitative explanation for each mechanism is presented, together with a detailed analytical model which allows the difference in loss for the counter-propagating beams to be calculated. Experimental results which confirm the validity of the models are also presented. The application of these techniques for single frequency CW and Q-switched operation of miniature solid-state lasers is discussed and, based on the analytical model, strategies for optimising the design of acoustooptic modulators and ring resonators are considered

Keywords

Q-switching; acousto-optical effects; laser beams; laser cavity resonators; laser frequency stability; laser theory; optical losses; optimisation; ring lasers; solid lasers; Q-switched operation; acoustooptic effect; acoustooptic modulator design optimisation; analytical model; counter-propagating beams; miniature solid-state lasers; ring laser; ring lasers; ring resonators; single frequency CW laser; unidirectional operation; Acoustooptic effects; Analytical models; Design optimization; Frequency; Laser beams; Laser modes; Optical design; Optical ring resonators; Ring lasers; Solid lasers;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Quantum Electronics, IEEE Journal of

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

0018-9197

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/3.481879

Filename

481879