What gain guiding and index guiding mean in the context of lasers?

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SUMMARY

Gain guiding and index guiding are two critical concepts in the context of diode lasers. Gain guiding refers to the optical cavity being constrained to areas with sufficient current density to achieve population inversion, thereby ensuring gain instead of absorption. In contrast, index guiding relies on a difference in refractive index to define the location of the optical cavity. Understanding these mechanisms is essential for optimizing laser performance.

PREREQUISITES
  • Diode laser operation principles
  • Population inversion in laser physics
  • Refractive index and its impact on light propagation
  • Optical cavity design in lasers
NEXT STEPS
  • Research the principles of population inversion in laser systems
  • Explore the role of refractive index in laser cavity design
  • Study the differences between gain guiding and index guiding in various laser types
  • Investigate advanced diode laser configurations and their applications
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Laser engineers, physicists, and anyone involved in the design and optimization of diode lasers will benefit from this discussion.

Cerkit
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Does anyone know what gain guiding and index guiding mean in the context of lasers?
 
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I've only heard this in reference to diode lasers.

In gain guiding, the optical cavity is constrained to be where the current density is sufficient to have population inversion (i.e. to have gain rather than absorption).

In index guiding, a difference in refractive index determines the location of the optical cavity.
 
Thread 'Unexpected irregular reflection signal from a high-finesse cavity'

Thread 'Unexpected irregular reflection signal from a high-finesse cavity'

I am observing an irregular, aperiodic noise pattern in the reflection signal of a high-finesse optical cavity (finesse ≈ 20,000). The cavity is normally operated using a standard Pound–Drever–Hall (PDH) locking configuration, where an EOM provides phase modulation. The signals shown in the attached figures were recorded with the modulation turned off. Under these conditions, when scanning the laser frequency across a cavity resonance, I expected to observe a simple reflection dip. Instead...
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