Resonator

A resonator is a device or system that exhibits resonance or resonant behavior, that is, it naturally oscillates at some
frequencies, called its resonant frequencies, with greater amplitude than at others. The oscillations in a resonator can be
either electromagnetic or mechanical (including acoustic). Resonators are used to either generate waves of specific
frequencies or to select specific frequencies from a signal. Musical instruments use acoustic resonators that produce
sound waves of specific tones.
A cavity resonator, usually used in reference to electromagnetic resonators, is one in which waves exist in a hollow
space inside the device. Acoustic cavity resonators, in which sound is produced by air vibrating in a cavity with one
opening, are known as Helmholtz resonators.

Explanation
A physical system can have as many resonant frequencies as it has degrees of freedom; each degree of freedom can
vibrate as a harmonic oscillator. Systems with one degree of freedom, such as a mass on a spring, pendulums, balance
wheels, and LC tuned circuits have one resonant frequency. Systems with two degrees of freedom, such as coupled
pendulums and resonant transformers can have two resonant frequencies. As the number of coupled harmonic
oscillators grows, the time it takes to transfer energy from one to the next becomes significant. The vibrations in them
begin to travel through the coupled harmonic oscillators in waves, from one oscillator to the next.
The term resonator is most often used for a homogeneous object in which vibrations travel as waves, at an
approximately constant velocity, bouncing back and forth between the sides of the resonator. Resonators can be viewed
as being made of millions of coupled moving parts (such as atoms). Therefore they can have millions of resonant
frequencies, although only a few may be used in practical resonators. The oppositely moving waves interfere with each
other to create a pattern of standing waves in the resonator. If the distance between the sides is , the length of a
round trip is . In order to cause resonance, the phase of a sinusoidal wave after a round trip has to be equal to the
initial phase so the waves will reinforce. So the condition for resonance in a resonator is that the round trip distance,
, be equal to an integral number of wavelengths of the wave:

If the velocity of a wave is , the frequency is so the resonance frequencies are:

So the resonant frequencies of resonators, called normal modes, are equally spaced multiples (harmonics), of a lowest
frequency called the fundamental frequency. The above analysis assumes the medium inside the resonator is
homogeneous, so the waves travel at a constant speed, and that the shape of the resonator is rectilinear. If the
resonator is inhomogeneous or has a nonrectilinear shape, like a circular drumhead or a cylindrical microwave cavity,
the resonant frequencies may not occur at equally spaced multiples of the fundamental frequency. They are then called
overtones instead of harmonics. There may be several such series of resonant frequencies in a single resonator,
corresponding to different modes of vibration.

Cavity resonators
A cavity resonator is a hollow conductor blocked at both ends and along which an electromagnetic wave can be
supported. It can be viewed as a waveguide short-circuited at both ends (see Microwave cavity).
The cavity has interior surfaces which reflect a wave of a specific frequency. When a wave that is resonant with the
cavity enters, it bounces back and forth within the cavity, with low loss (see standing wave). As more wave energy enters
the cavity, it combines with and reinforces the standing wave, increasing its intensity
Resonance
In physics, resonance is the tendency of a system to oscillate with larger amplitude at some frequencies than at others.
These are known as the system's resonant frequencies. At these frequencies, even small periodic driving forces can
produce large amplitude oscillations, because the system stores vibrational energy.
Resonances occur when a system is able to store and easily transfer energy between two or more different storage
modes (such as kinetic energy and potential energy in the case of a pendulum). However, there are some losses from
cycle to cycle, called damping. When damping is small, the resonant frequency is approximately equal to a natural
frequency of the system, which is a frequency of unforced vibrations. Some systems have multiple, distinct, resonant
frequencies.
Resonance phenomena occur with all types of vibrations or waves: there is mechanical resonance, acoustic resonance,
electromagnetic resonance, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), electron spin resonance (ESR) and resonance of
quantum wave functions. Resonant systems can be used to generate vibrations of a specific frequency (e.g. musical
instruments), or pick out specific frequencies from a complex vibration containing many frequencies.

Optical cavity
An optical cavity or optical resonator is an arrangement of mirrors that forms a standing wave cavity resonator for light
waves. Optical cavities are a major component of lasers, surrounding the gain medium and providing feedback of the
laser light. They are also used in optical parametric oscillators and some interferometers. Light confined in the cavity
reflect multiple times producing standing waves for certain resonance frequencies. The standing wave patterns
produced are called modes; longitudinal modes differ only in frequency while transverse modes differ for different
frequencies and have different intensity patterns across the cross section of the beam.
Different resonator types are distinguished by the focal lengths of the two mirrors and the distance between them. (Flat
mirrors are not often used because of the difficulty of aligning them to the needed precision.) The geometry (resonator
type) must be chosen so that the beam remains stable (that the size of the beam does not continually grow with
multiple reflections. Resonator types are also designed to meet other criteria such as minimum beam waist or having no
focal point (and therefore intense light at that point) inside the cavity.
Optical cavities are designed to have a large Q factor;[1] a beam will reflect a very
large number of times with little attenuation. Therefore the frequency line width
of the beam is very small indeed compared to the frequency of the laser.

Resonator modes
Light confined in a resonator will reflect multiple times from the mirrors, and due
to the effects of interference, only certain patterns and frequencies of radiation
will be sustained by the resonator, with the others being suppressed by
destructive interference. In general, radiation patterns which are reproduced on
every round-trip of the light through the resonator are the most stable, and
these are the eigenmodes, known as the modes, of the resonator.
Resonator modes can be divided into two types: longitudinal modes, which differ
in frequency from each other; and transverse modes, which may differ in both
frequency and the intensity pattern of the light. The basic, or fundamental
transverse mode of a resonator is a Gaussian beam.

Types of two-mirror optical cavities, with mirrors of various curvatures, showing

the radiation pattern inside each cavity.
Resonator types

The most common types of optical cavities consist of two facing plane (flat) or spherical mirrors. The simplest
of these is the plane-parallel or Fabry–Pérot cavity, consisting of two opposing flat mirrors. While simple, this
arrangement is rarely used in large-scale lasers due the difficulty of alignment; the mirrors must be aligned
parallel within a few seconds of arc, or "walkoff" of the intracavity beam will result in it spilling out of the sides
of the cavity. However, this problem is much reduced for very short cavities with a small mirror separation
distance (L < 1 cm). Plane-parallel resonators are therefore commonly used in microchip and microcavity lasers
and semiconductor lasers. In these cases, rather than using separate mirrors, a reflective optical coating may be
directly applied to the laser medium itself. The plane-parallel resonator is also the basis of the Fabry–Pérot
interferometer.

For a resonator with two mirrors with radii of curvature R1 and R2, there are a number of common cavity
configurations. If the two curvatures are equal to half the cavity length (R1 = R2 = L / 2), a concentric or
spherical resonator results. This type of cavity produces a diffraction-limited beam waist in the centre of the
cavity, with large beam diameters at the mirrors, filling the whole mirror aperture. Similar to this is the
hemispherical cavity, with one plane mirror and one mirror of curvature equal to the cavity length.

A common and important design is the confocal resonator, with equal curvature mirrors equal to the cavity
length (R1 = R2 = L). This design produces the smallest possible beam diameter at the cavity mirrors for a given
cavity length, and is often used in lasers where the purity of the transverse mode pattern is important.

A concave-convex cavity has one convex mirror with a negative radius of curvature. This design produces no
intracavity focus of the beam, and is thus useful in very high-power lasers where the intensity of the intracavity
light might be damaging to the intracavity medium if brought to a focus.

Spherical cavity

A transparent dielectric sphere, such as a liquid droplet, also forms an interesting optical cavity. Richard K.
Chang et al. have demonstrated, in 1986, lasing by using ethanol microdroplets (20–40 micrometers in radius)
doped with rhodamine 6G dye. This type of optical cavity exhibits optical resonances when the size of the
sphere or the optical wavelength or the refractive index is varied. The resonance is known as morphology-
dependent resonance.

Stability
Stability diagram for a two-mirror cavity. Blue-shaded areas correspond
to stable configurations. 

Only certain ranges of values for R1, R2, and L produce stable
resonators in which periodic refocussing of the intracavity beam is
produced. If the cavity is unstable, the beam size will grow
without limit, eventually growing larger than the size of the cavity
mirrors and being lost. By using methods such as ray transfer
matrix analysis, it is possible to calculate a stability criterion:

0≤ ≤ 1.

Values which satisfy the inequality correspond to stable resonators.

The stability can be shown graphically by defining a stability parameter, g for each mirror:

and plotting g1 against g2 as shown. Areas bounded by the line g1 g2 = 1 and the axes are stable. Cavities at
points exactly on the line are marginally stable; small variations in cavity length can cause the resonator to
become unstable, and so lasers using these cavities are in practice often operated just inside the stability line.

A simple geometric statement describes the regions of stability: A cavity is stable if the line segments between
the mirrors and their centers of curvature overlap, but one does not lie entirely within the other.

In the confocal cavity a ray, which is deviated from its original direction in the middle between the of the
cavity, is maximally (compared to other cavities) displaced on the return to the middle. This prevents amplified
spontaneous emission and is important for a good beam quality and high power amplifiers. In wave optics this
is expressed by the eigenvalue degeneration of the modes. On every turn to the left, the 0,0 mode and the 1,0
mode are 90° out of phase, but on the turn back, they are 180° out of phase [citation needed]. Interference of the modes
then leads to a displacement.

Curved mirror
A curved mirror is a mirror with a curved reflective surface, which may be either convex (bulging outward) or concave
(bulging inward). Most curved mirrors have surfaces that are shaped like part of a sphere, but other shapes are
sometimes used in optical devices. The most common non-spherical type are parabolic reflectors, found in optical
devices such as reflecting telescopes that need to image distant objects, since spherical mirror systems suffer from
spherical aberration.

Convex mirror
A convex mirror, fish eye mirror or diverging mirror, is a curved mirror in which
the reflective surface bulges toward the light source. Convex mirrors reflect light
outwards, therefore they are not used to focus light. Such mirrors always form a
virtual image, since the focus (F) and the centre of curvature (2F) are both
imaginary points "inside" the mirror, which cannot be reached. Therefore
images formed by these mirrors cannot be taken on screen. (As they are inside
the mirror)
A collimated (parallel) beam of light diverges (spreads out) after reflection from
a convex mirror, since the normal to the surface differs with each spot on the
mirror.

Image

The image is always virtual (rays haven't actually passed through the image,their extensions do), diminished (smaller),
and upright . These features make convex mirrors very useful: everything appears smaller in the mirror, so they cover a
wider field of view than a normal plane mirror does as the image is "compressed".
 Effect on image of object's position relative to mirror focal point (Convex)

Object's position (S), Image Diagram

focal point (F)

 Virtual
 Upright
 Reduced
(diminished/smaller)

Concave mirrors
A concave mirror, or converging mirror, has a reflecting surface that bulges
inward (away from the incident light). Concave mirrors reflect light inward to one
focal point, therefore they are used to focus light. Unlike convex mirrors, concave
mirrors show different image types depending on the distance between the
object and the mirror.
These mirrors are called "converging" because they tend to collect light that falls
on them, refocusing parallel incoming rays toward a focus. This is because the
light is reflected at different angles, since the normal to the surface differs with
each spot on the mirror.

Image

Effect on image of object's position relative to mirror focal point (Concave)

Object's position Image Diagram
(S),
focal point (F)
S<F Virtual
(Object between Upright
focal point and Magnified (larger)
mirror)
S=F Reflected rays are parallel and never meet, so no image
(Object at focal is formed.
point) In the limit where S approaches F, the image distance
approaches infinity, and the image can be either real or
virtual and either upright or inverted depending on
whether S approaches F from above or below.

F < S < 2F Real

(Object between Inverted (vertically)
focus and centre Magnified (larger)
of curvature)

S = 2F Real
(Object at centre Inverted (vertically)
of curvature) Same size
Image formed at centre of curvature

S > 2F Real
(Object beyond Inverted (vertically)
centre of Reduced (diminished/smaller)
curvature)
Mirror shape
Most curved mirrors have a spherical profile. These are the simplest to make, and it is the best shape for general-
purpose use. Spherical mirrors, however, suffer from spherical aberration. Parallel rays reflected from such mirrors do
not focus to a single point. For parallel rays, such as those coming from a very distant object, a parabolic reflector can do
a better job. Such a mirror can focus incoming parallel rays to a much smaller spot than a spherical mirror can.

Analysis
Mirror equation and magnification
The Gaussian mirror equation relates the object distance (do) and image distances (di) to the focal length (f):

.
The magnification of a mirror is defined as the height of the image divided by the height of the object:

.
The negative sign in this equation is used as a convention. By convention, if the magnification is positive, the image is
upright. If the magnification is negative, the image is inverted (upside down).

GRAZING ANGLE
When dealing with a beam that is nearly parallel to a surface, it is
sometimes more useful to refer to the angle between the beam and the
surface, rather than that between the beam and the surface normal, in
other words 90° minus the angle of incidence. This angle is called a glancing
angle or grazing angle. Incidence at small grazing angle is called "grazing
incidence"

FIXED P OINT

A fixed point is a point that does not change upon application of a map, system of differential equations, etc. In
particular, a fixed point of a function is a point such that

(
1
)

Not all functions have fixed points: for example, if f is a function defined on the real numbers as f(x) = x + 1, then
it has no fixed points, since x is never equal to x + 1 for any real number. In graphical terms, a fixed point means
the point (x, f(x)) is on the line y = x, or in other words the graph of f has a point in common with that line.
Points which come back to the same value after a finite number of iterations of the function are known as
periodic points; a fixed point is a periodic point with period equal to one.
An ATTRACTIVE FIXED POINT of a function f is a fixed point x0 of f such that for any value of x in the domain that is
close enough to x0, the iterated function sequence
converges to x0.
 Points of an autonomous system of ordinary differential equations at which

(
2
)
are known as fixed points.

If a variable is slightly displaced from a fixed point, it may (1) move back to the fixed point ("asymptotically
stable" or "superstable"), (2) move away ("unstable"), or (3) move in a neighborhood of the fixed point but not
approach it ("stable" but not "asymptotically stable"). Fixed points are also called critical points or equilibrium
points. If a variable starts at a point that is not a critical point, it cannot reach a critical point in a finite amount of
time. Also, a trajectory passing through at least one point that is not a critical point cannot cross itself unless it is
a closed curve, in which case it corresponds to a periodic solution.
A fixed point can be classified into one of several classes using linear stability analysis and the resulting stability
matrix.
The following table summarizes types of possible fixed points for a two-dimensional

fixed point

stable node

unstable node

hyperbolic fixed point

stable spiral point

unstable spiral point

elliptic fixed point

, a null vector stable star

, a null vector unstable star

, not a null vector stable improper node

, not a null vector unstable improper node

E LLIPTIC FIXED POINT

An elliptic fixed point of a differential equation is a fixed point for which the stability matrix has purely imaginary
eigenvalues (for ).
An elliptic fixed point of a map is a fixed point of a linear transformation (map) for which the rescaled variables
satisfy