Off-Axis Confocal Unstable Resonator for Large-Bore High-Power Laser Chemical Pumped Oxygen–Iodine Energy Transfer Laser

Abstract

An exotic resonator called the off-axis confocal unstable resonator is analyzed for large-bore low-gain high-saturation-intensity high-power lasers such as chemical pumped oxygen–iodine energy transfer laser (COIL), for which suitable resonators with high beam quality have not existed until now. The result of the calculations clearly showed that the off-axis confocal unstable resonator could produce multi-kW output with excellent beam quality for COIL.