title: Laser operation with two orthogonally polarized transverse modes.
abstract: Laser resonator configurations, which enable laser operation with two orthogonally polarized transverse modes, are presented. The intensity distributions of these two modes can be chosen to be complementary, so the gain medium can be exploited more efficiently than with a single mode, leading to improved output power. Moreover, the two modes can be combined and efficiently transformed into a single high-quality beam. Basic principles and experimental results with Nd:YAG lasers are presented.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics of Complex Systems, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel. ram.oron@weizmann.ac.il
authors.forename: Ram
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Oron
authors.forename: Liran
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Shimshi
authors.forename: Shmuel
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Blit
authors.forename: Nir
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Davidson
authors.forename: Asher A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Friesem
authors.forename: Erez
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Hasman