Abstract

Phase-unifying mirrors are optical components used as output couplers in laser resonators to improve the quality of the output laser beam (1,2). These components exhibit a high reflectance on a central area and a very low reflectance on an external area of the sample surface, with a sharp edge between the two zones. Their peculiarity is that the laser beam transmitted through the two areas does not suffer of phase distortions that means the jump, in the phase shift, is reduced to a minimum value.

© 1998 Optical Society of America