Abstract
The generation of femtosecond solid state lasers based on Kerr-lens mode-locking (KLM) phenomena has progressed rapidly since its first observation in 1991.1 The principle mechanism for modelocking has been established to be an ultrafast saturable absorber action due to self-focusing of the laser beam in a Kerr medium inside the resonator.2 In the most common KLM resonator, as shown in Fig. 1, the gain medium also provides the Kerr nonlinearity. Using the ABCD matrix formalism, we analyze resonator geometries of this type by considering the various parameters such as curved mirror separation, resonator symmetry, coupling between sagittal and tangential rays, and the position of the gain/ Kerr medium with respect to the resonator beam waists. The two stability regimes of a typical asymmetric resonator are shown in Fig. 1 (inset) where the sagittal and tangential beam waists are plotted versus the curved mirror separation for an astigmatically compensated cavity.
© 1994 Optical Society of America
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