Transverse mode coupling in an optical resonator.
Small-angle scattering due to mirror surface roughness is shown to couple the optical modes and deform the transmission spectra in a frequency-degenerate optical cavity. A simple model based on a random scattering matrix clearly visualizes the mixing and avoided crossings between multiple transverse modes. These effects are visible only in the frequency-domain spectra; cavity ringdown experiments are unaffected by changes in the spatial coherence, as they probe just the intracavity photon lifetime.
Klaassen
Thijs
T
Huygens Laboratory, Leiden University, P.O. Box 9504, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands. tklaassen@molphys.leidenuniv.nl
de Jong
Johan
J
van Exter
Martin
M
Woerdman
J P
JP