Mode-locking by an intracavity plasma. Part I. Linear model

Abstract

In this first paper we develop a linear model for the simulation of laser mode-locking by an intracavity plasma. The model involves fast partial cut-off of the laser beam followed by a Doppler shift of the transmitted spectrum. We demonstrate how sharp discontinuities in non-resonant beams generate short pulses. Applications of that property are proposed. We also present numerical results indicating that successive Doppler shifts can be used to narrow the impulse response of a homogeneous gain medium.