New method for controlling competitive interaction between counterpropagating waves in a solid-state ring laser

New possibilities were established for controlling the characteristics of a YAG:Nd³⁺ solid-state ring laser (SSRL) by inserting a resonantly absorbing medium–a nonpumped YAG:Nd³⁺ crystal–in the resonator. A new multimode lasing regime was observed for a rotating SSRL. A strong dependence of the amplitudefrequency characteristics of a rotating SSRL on the detuning of the gain and absorption lines was established. "Spiky" instability of the emission from a rotating SSRL was observed in the range of frequency splittings of the opposite waves near the relaxation frequency. It was found that this instability was eliminated in the forced mode-locking regime. A change of the lasing regime in an SSRL was accompanied by strong hysteresis and memory effects.