PRODUCTION AND PROPAGATION OF HERMITE-SINUSOIDAL-GAUSSIAN LASER-BEAMS

Hermite-sinusoidal-Gaussian solutions to the wave equation have recent ly been obtained. In the limit of large Hermite-Gaussian beam size, th e sinusoidal factors are dominant and reduce to the conventional modes of a rectangular waveguide. In the opposite Limit the beams reduce to the familiar Hermite-Gaussian form. The propagation of these beams is examined in detail, and resonators are designed that will produce the m. As an example, a special resonator is designed to produce hyperboli c-sine-Gaussian beams. This ring resonator contains a hyperbolic-cosin e-Gaussian apodized aperture. The beam mode has finite energy and is p erturbation stable. (C) 1998 Optical Society of America.