Abstract

It is shown, theoretically and experimentally, that there is a correspondence between the near field distribution of light from a ruby laser and its interferogram. Specifically, it is shown that, in general, filaments occur in ruby lasers but that these are not present for good quality crystals. An interferometric method for assessing crystal quality is described. The results of preliminary investigations of the spatial distribution of coherence in the near field of a good laser are given, and it is shown that there is a high degree of coherence between points separated by as much as 3.2 mm on the face of a ruby laser.

© 1962 Optical Society of America

Optical Quality and Radiation Patterns of Ruby Lasers

C. Martin Stickley
Appl. Opt. 2(8) 855-860 (1963)

High-Speed Sequence Photography of a Ruby Laser

E. S. Dayhoff and B. Kessler
Appl. Opt. 1(3) 339-341 (1962)

Mode Control in Ruby Optical Masers by Means of Elastic Deformation

Morley S. Lipsett and M. W. P. Strandberg
Appl. Opt. 1(3) 343-357 (1962)

Photomixing Experiments with a Ruby Optical Maser and a Traveling-Wave Microwave Phototube

B. J. McMurtry and A. E. Siegman
Appl. Opt. 1(S1) 133-135 (1962)

Photomixing Experiments with a Ruby Optical Maser and a Traveling-Wave Microwave Phototube

B. J. McMurtry and A. E. Siegman
Appl. Opt. 1(1) 51-53 (1962)