Solid-state ring laser with an acoustooptic phase nonreciprocity of the opposite waves

An investigation was made of a YAG:Nd³⁺ crystal ring laser with an acoustooptic phase-nonreciprocal element. This element provided effective control of lasing kinetics. The conditions for ensuring unidirectional single-frequency emission with the aid of this element were determined. It was found that an ML-202 acoustooptic mode locking device introduced a phase nonreciprocity between the opposite waves as a result of which bidirectional emission in this solid-state ring laser with longitudinal mode locking became possible for certain angular positions of ML-202. The conditions were identified for unidirectional emission in the case of acoustooptic locking of longitudinal modes.