Bending Mirrors

Output couplers, also known as front mirrors, are designed to reflect a portion of the beam back into the laser resonator for continuous amplification while transmitting a portion of the beam to the outside for use. Therefore, the substrate material must be transmissive at the required wavelength of 10.6μ. Germanium and Gallium Arsenide substrates are commonly used for low to medium powered systems. The more expensive Zinc Selenide material is required for higher- powered lasers because of its lower absorption at 10.6 microns.