Generation of 6-psec pulses with a nitrogen-laser-pumped distributed-feedback dye laser

In this paper distributed-feedback dye lasers (DFDLs) pumped by various N2 laser systems providing pump pulse durations between 0.7 and 3.5 nsec are studied experimentally and theoretically. The output pulses of a distributed-feedback dye laser (DFDL) are found to be ∼50–100 times shorter than the pulses by which it is pumped. Pulses of 6-psec duration have been generated when the DFDL was pumped with pulses lasting 0.7 nsec. Construction of the N2 lasers used as pump sources for the DFDL is described.