title: Modes of a unidirectional ring laser.
abstract: The modes of a ring-laser cavity with an extra mirror for unidirectional operation are analyzed and shown to be the same as those of a conventional ring laser. The beam from the extra mirror does not give rise to additional interferometric effects when it is reflected back into the ring cavity. Experimental results with a He-Ne unidirectional ring laser confirm this finding; operation is demonstrated in both a symmetric and an asymmetric distribution of mode amplitudes about the Doppler line center.
authors.affiliation: Physics Department, General Motors Research Laboratories, Warren, Michigan 48090, USA.
authors.forename: F R
authors.initials: FR
authors.lastname: Faxvog