Mutual quenching of axial modes in two-mode lasers

An analysis is made of stimulated emission from active two-level particles with a homogeneously broadened transition line in a two-mode axial optical resonator. It is assumed that the particles fill the volume where the spatial structures of the mode fields are similar and that the intermodal beat period exceeds the relaxation time of the populations of the particle energy levels. The range of existence of two different (mutually exclusive) stable single-frequency emission regimes is determined and the hysteresis in the system is discussed. The use of such lasers as optical memory elements and logic devices is proposed.