Three-dimensional field structure in open unstable cavities Part II: Active cavity results.

The three-dimensional field distribution of the diffractive cavity mode structure in an active, open, unstable laser resonator is presented as a function of the equivalent Fresnel number of the cavity. The active cavity mode structures are compared to that of the corresponding passive cavity so that the effects of a spatially extended, homogeneously broadened, saturable gain medium on the cavity field structure may be ascertained. The qualitative structure of this intracavity field distribution, including the central intensity core (or oscillator filament), is explained in terms of the Fresnel zone structure defined over the cavity feedback aperture.