High mode volume self filtering unstable resonator applied to a short pulse XeCl laser

Abstract

A high mode volume non confocal self filtering unstable resonator has been applied to a short pulse XeCl laser. Such a resonator made up of a concave mirror (focal length is 25 cm) and a convex mirror (focal length is -25 cm), has a magnification | M|=34 and a cavity length of 151 cm. A nearly diffraction limited laser beam of 5.5 mJ, 10 ns duration and with a brightness of 2.5×10 13 W cm -2 sr -1 has been obtained. These results are compared to those obtained with another self-filtering unstable resonator having the same resonator length but | M|=10.