Lasers

Effect of a selective saturable absorber on the dynamics of a two-mode laser

N. D. Milovskii, P. A. Khandokhin, Ya. I. Khanin

Institute of Applied Physics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Nizhny Novgorod

Abstract: The dynamics of a two-mode laser is studied in the presence of a selective saturable absorber interacting only with one of the modes. The specific nature of the system is determined by the presence of the out-of-phase relaxation oscillation, which becomes undamped when a sufficiently dense saturable absorber interacts with the weaker mode. If the absorber interacts with the stronger mode, the in-phase relaxation oscillation is excited, and the situation becomes similar to that observed in a single-mode laser. In the case of a slowly relaxing absorber, the difference of populations of its working levels can be adiabatically excluded. This procedure substantially simplifies the model and does not change its dynamic characteristics.

PACS: 42.60.Mi, 42.60.Rn

Received: 09.01.2003

 English version: Quantum Electronics, 2003, 33:8, 731–736

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