Competition between two modes of a gas laser with a controlled ellipticity of the polarizations

A phase-anisotropic cavity resonator was developed. In this resonator the frequency splitting of the adjacent orthogonally polarized modes and the ellipticity of their polarizations were controlled independently. The resonator was used to implement a new method for the control of the interaction between laser modes. Theoretical and experimental investigations were made of the interaction of such modes in the course of gradual variation of their polarizations from linear to circular using 3s₂–3p₄ and 3s₂–3p₂ transitions in an He–Ne laser.