A theoretical model is reported for spontaneous mode locking in mixed-broadened laser oscillators. Experimental observations of this effect have been available for many years, but no rigorous interpretation has been given. Numerical calculations emphasize the case of a high-gain xenon laser, for which extensive experimental data have been published. Complex pulsation characteristics are observed as the cavity length and pumping rate are varied, and the theoretical results are in good agreement with the experimental data.
Spontaneous pulsations similar to the type discovered in 3.51-m Xe laser oscillators were reported several years ago in 3.39-m He-Ne lasers, but no numerical interpretation of the He-Ne data has been given. The model for the Xe laser instability is adapted here to the He-Ne system, and the results include direct comparisons between theoretical calculations and published experimental data. Good agreement is obtained for the instability threshold, the pulsation frequencies, and many other features; and unmeasured but potentially useful pulsation characteristics are also readily obtained from the model.
The stability criteria for single-mode standing-wave laser oscillators in the homogeneously broadened limit are reported, and two types of criteria are distinguished. The first type (type 1) corresponds to the minimum value of the threshold parameter for which an infinitesimal perturbation away from steady state grows into an oscillatory solution. A second type (type 2) corresponds to the minimum value of threshold parameter for which large-amplitude oscillations do not decay to the steady-state solution. Undamped pulsations in singlemode homogeneously broadened standing-wave laser oscillators are found to occur at a much higher excitation level than in ring-laser oscillators with homogeneous broadening. The effects of detuning on the stability criteria are also investigated.
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