Simulation of optical field in laser resonators cavity by eigenvector method

In this paper, an Eigenvector method (EM) for the calculation of optical resonator modes and beam propagation is introduced, in which the transit matrix of an optical resonator is obtained by dividing the mirror into finite grids based on the Fresnel–Kirchoff diffractive integral equation. Then, the eigenvectors, representing the multimode characteristics of the resonator, can be calculated by solving the integral matrix eigenequation. The merits of EM include that the considerably simpler procedure of solution of eigenvectors of the matrix eigenequation replaces the complicated iteration in traditional methods, and there is no dependence on the initial field distribution, and a number of modes can be derived once and the discrimination capability of the resonator can be evaluated easily. The examples using EM to simulate con-focal resonators with small or large Fresnel numbers are given, and the calculated results, well matched with Fox–Li method or Lagueree–Gaussian approximation analytical solution, prove that EM is highly feasible and reasonable.