Concentric Cylindrical Circumferential Laser

The present disclosure relates to a ring-type laser system supporting circumferential radial emission. A cylindrical ring waveguide provides optical confinement in the radial and axial dimensions supporting a plurality of traveling wave modes with various degrees of confinement. The waveguide contains a gain media which is gain tailored to offset modal confinement factors of the modal constituency to favor radial emission. The selected modes radiate energy as they circulate the laser resonator with a 360 degree output coupler. The design is applicable toward both micro-resonators and resonators much larger than the optical wavelength, enabling high output powers and scalability. The circumferential radial laser emission can be concentrated by positioning the cylindrical ring laser inside a three-dimensional conical mirror thereby forming a laser ring of light propagating in the axial dimension away from the surface of the laser, which can be subsequently collimated for focused using conventional optics.