Abstract

When a tuned standing-wave gas laser operates on-resonance, neighboring frequencies experience gain in accordance with the Lamb dip. Bennett¹ showed that it is possible for certain of these frequencies also to satisfy the phase-matching condition required by the dispersion relation. In such cases, gas lasers possess three possible steady states—one on-resonance state and two frequency-pushed ones. Bennett suggested that this effect could give rise to bistability and hysteresis in the frequency vs detuning characteristics.

© 1986 Optical Society of America