Abstract
Unstable resonators offer the most practical method of producing coherent beams of excellent optical quality out of laser media of large dimensions.1 However, according to geometric optics, the dominant modes of unstable resonators experience a net feedback per roundtrip given by 1 / M2, where M is the resonator magnification. As a result, conventional unstable resonators of large magnification are not suited for many laser media of large volume which have modest gain. In this paper, we describe how the use of multiple phase steps can alleviate the problem of low feedback while maintaining (or even improving) modal discrimination.
© 1992 Optical Society of America
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