OPTICAL RESONATORS IN UNIAXIALLY ANISOTROPIC MEDIA.

Two flat or curved mirror surfaces facing each other form an optical resonator. The problem of diffraction of electromagnetic waves in optical resonators has been extensively studied recently, primarily because of their importance as resonant cavities for laser applications. The problem most generally considered assumes that the resonator is embedded in a linear, homogeneous, isotropic medium. In this study a departure from the idealized medium is made to investigate the effects of diffraction on the electromagnetic field in an optic resonator embedded in an infinite, uniaxially anisotropic medium which is otherwise assumed to be linear and homogeneneous. The direction of the optic axis of the medium is allowed to assume an arbitrary orientation relative to the direction of the resonator axis. Author