Influence of diffuse scattering on the distribution of intensity on unstable-resonator mirrors

An analysis is made of the influence of weak diffuse scattering by mirrors on the characteristics of an unstable resonator. It is shown that even if the diffuse reflection coefficient is only D_diff~10^–2, the roughness of the mirror surface may give rise to a random scatter (~10^–1) of the laser threshold and a considerable (~ 1) change in the distribution of the intensity on the resonator mirrors.