Abstract

Ring laser cavities for femtosecond lasers use off-axis focusing mirrors, resulting in a significant astigmatism throughout the resonator. The gain and absorber sections of these lasers are generally located between a sagittal and tangential focus. As a result of an absorbing or amplifying medium being located within Raleigh range of either foci, near resonant saturation of these media results in a significant alteration of the cavity modes.

© 1992 Optical Society of America