Prescribed nondegenerate high-order modes in an axial-asymmetric high-finesse Fabry-Perot microcavity

Opt Lett. 2012 May 1;37(9):1457-9. doi: 10.1364/OL.37.001457.

Abstract

We report an axial-asymmetric high-Q Fabry-Perot cavity supporting nondegenerate Hermite-Gaussian modes of the same mode order. Axial asymmetry of mirror surface was introduced by mechanically grinding off one side of a cylindrical mirror substrate without degrading the original mirror quality. The bases of the resulting Hermite-Gaussian modes were aligned with respect to the direction of grinding, making it possible to prescribe the mirror principal axes.