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XI.
Transverse Modes
In the paraxial approximation, the q parameter describes the propagation of all HermiteGaussian modes. It is therefore not surprising that a laser resonator constructed with
spherical optics (the mirrors) can support an infinite set of Hermite-Gaussian modes
the transverse modes.
The fundamental transverse mode (TEM00) is purely Gaussian in radial extent:
E (r )
y
Eo
Eo
e
x
-w
-
r 2
E ( r ) = E o exp
w
this is the most sought after mode from a laser since it is the easiest to
characterize and hence use in experiments, e.g. laser spectroscopy.
, of order n:
Higher order modes involve the Hermite polynomials, H n 2 x
w
z
(
)
E (x )
I (x )
TEM10 ;
x 2
y 2
2x
exp exp
E ( x ) = E o H 1
w
w
w(z )
E (x )
TEM 50 ;
x2 + y2
2x
exp
E (x ) = E o H 5
2
w
w
Of course, radial symmetry permits higher order transverse modes in both the x and y
directions.
E.g. TEM23
r 2
2x
2y
E ( x, y ) = E o H 2
H 3 w exp w
w
NOTE: For the TEMnm transverse mode the n and m coefficients refer to the
orders of the Hermite polynomials in the x and y directions respectively.
Most lasers can be forced to operate on only the fundamental TEM00 mode by placing a
suitably sized circular aperture inside the cavity;
I(r)
aperture
Output
The size of the aperture must be chosen so that the losses for all but the TEM00 mode
are so high that they cannot oscillate. The aperture is usually placed near the minimum
beam waist in the cavity where the TEM00 mode is best characterized (i.e., wo can be
evaluated most easily).
NOTE: A spatial gain profile g(r) can also be used to select the TEM00 mode in
some cases; e.g., a laser pumped by a laser:
TEM00
TEM1o
N.B.
i)
hole
TEM01
TEM10
ii)
These are also radial solutions to the paraxial wave equation. These produce
Laguerre-Gaussian modes (TEMpl);
p,l = 0,0
p,l = 0,3
p,l = 1,3
Longitudinal Modes
__
m1 (m + 1) 2
=
2
2
2 = m(1 2 ) = m
= =
m 2L
= 1 2
But, v =
c
2
hence
c
2L
v
(FSR
)
In laser physics, the spectral width of an axial mode is usually ignored because it is
much narrower than even the gain bandwidth. For example, consider the typical cavity
shown below;
L = 1m
R 100%
R 90%
c
=150 MHz.
2L
The width v can be calculated using the resolving power
v
m F 2L R
=
=
v
2
(1 R )
since m =
v =
c(1 R )
2L R
2L
4R
and F =
.
(1 R )2
= 2.45 MHz
v
~ 100
v
AND t ~
1
~ 1s
v
c.f. typical upper state lifetime 1s, BUT gain bandwidth >> v .
N.B.
1. Typically, several axial modes exist under the gain bandwidth of the lasing
medium, but only those for which the gain exceeds the losses can oscillate;
modes that can oscillate
lasing
linewidth
c
2L
loss line
vo = v12
So, in general, several modes will oscillate in a laser with usually random phase
relationships with each other; i.e., the temporal output will look like
E(t)
2. Each longitudinal mode has TEMnm modes associated with it, e.g.
c
2L
TEMnmq
TEM10q
TEM00q
Each transverse mode has a slightly different frequency since higher order
modes travel through marginally different cavity lengths on average;
Fundamental mode
Lnm
Loo