Analysis of laser power amplifiers.

The design of laser systems based on the HF chemical reaction presents special problems resulting from the shape of the active region. In this study, a Rigrod-type approach is used to analyze a master oscillator power amplifier. By suitably arranging two flat mirrors beside the active media, a multipass amplifier is devised.

The advantage of the multipass amplifier is that the active medium can be driven to saturation more easily and also the gain is enhanced.

This analysis is interesting because a multipass amplifier has never been analyzed successfully. A general design procedure is offered and a number of cases are discussed. In particular, a five pass MORA is designed to fit a spatial gain distribution of interest,