Efficiency of excitation of a quasioptical open resonator by a waveguide

We study theoretically and experimentally the efficiency of excitation of an open resonator by a waveguide. A two-dimensional model of a quasioptical two-mirror open resonator, which is excited through a coupling element in the form of an open end of a plane-parallel waveguide, is proposed. The field of the open resonator is represented as the superposition of Gaussian wave beams and its scattering on the coupling element is described by solving the problem of diffraction of waveguide waves and Gaussian wave beams on an open end of a flanged waveguide. Properties of the mirrors and the resonator loss are specified from physical considerations. The calculation results are compared with the experimental data, and a physical interpretation of the obtained results is offered. The factors which influence the efficiency of excitation of an open resonator are identified. Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Radiofizika, Vol. 52, No. 3, pp. 231–249, March 2009.