Mode locking in solid-state lasers by self-focusing

The self-consistent ABCD method is used to analyse the fundamental eigenmode of a four-mirror cavity with an active element and an aperture. Practical titanium-activated sapphire lasers with Kerr-lens mode locking are considered. The ranges of the cavity parameters are found in which the diffraction losses on an aperture are small and decrease with increase in the cavity field intensity as a result of self-focusing. These parameters of a four-mirror cavity are used to demonstrate that the investigated mechanism of discrimination of the radiation fluctuations should make it possible to generate a stable train of ultrashort pulses under conditions of cw and pulsed flashlamp pumping.