Abstract

As is well known, birefringent filters are often used in dyelaser cavities for continuously tuning the output wavelength of the laser emission. Several exact mathematical methods have been developed for studying the propagation of electromagnetic waves in stratified anisotropic media. These methods, based on the Maxwell equations and the continuity conditions, have been formulated in a 4 × 4 matrix representation. The aim of this work is to present a detailed study of birefringent filters when they act as intracavity wavelength selectors by using the mentioned matrix formalism. The behavior of a filter with only one slab of uniaxial anisotropic medium has been analyzed as a function of the angle of incidence and the tuning angle.

© 1991 Optical Society of America