The switching of controllable VO2 mirrors with dR/dT>0 or dR/dT<0 unde
r the action of a Gaussian-profile laser beam is modeled. It is shown
that when a high-intensity laser beam is reflected by a VO2 minor, it
undergoes appreciable spatial distortion during switching. (C) 1998 Am
erican Institute of Physics. [S1063-7850(98)00403-0]