Abstract

We present experimental resulte showing that holographic gratings can be used to control the modal content of solid-state lasers. When holographic gratings are inscribed with gaussian beams, they have the same spatial properties as variable reflectivity mirrors.^1,2 Simultaneously they can be used as spectral filters, just as ordinary gratings. They can also behave as curved mirrors when the phase front of one writing beam is flat and that of the other is curved. As a result holographic gratings allow to control the amplitude, phase and frequency distributions of the beam circulating in a laser cavity.

© 2000 IEEE