Abstract
Enforcing unidirectional operation of a ring laser is an attractive way to obtain a single frequency output from a solid-state laser. Recent work1–3 suggests that a reliable way to achieve unidirectional operation is by using an intracavity traveling-wave acousto-optic (AO) modulator. The nonreciprocal behavior of this device is due to its traveling-wave nature/ which causes the counterpropagating beams to suffer different diffraction losses—a consequence of the Bragg condition being satisfied at different angles of incidence for the counterpropagating beams, One important parameter for the device is the ratio of the loss-difference to diffraction loss which can be achieved. For cw operation it is desirable for its value to be as large as possible, to minimize the effective insertion (diffraction) loss in the preferred lasing direction. The value for this ratio depends on a number of factors including details of the Q-switch design, its orientation, and the lasing mode dimensions.
© 1992 Optical Society of America
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