Operation of a synchronously pumped infrared dye laser.

Abstract

Ultra-short infrared pulses were generated from a DNP 1040 dye laser synchronously pumped by a CPM glass laser newly constructed. Short (3-4 ps) pulses of about 100 per shot were obtained from the glass laser, in which a saturable absorber (NDL 112) of 0.5 mm in thickness was set in the center of a linear cavity of 1.0 min length and a glass rod (LHG-8.5φ, 75l) was placed between the cell and a coupling mirror. These glass laser pulses pumped synchronously the dye laser, the dye cell of which was contacted with the rear mirror and the cavity length was adjusted to be a half of the pump laser. The pulse width of the infrared dye laser of weak intensi-ty was measured by an optical Kerr shutter method with a CS2 cell and the glass laser. The pulse width of a transmitted signal was 3.0 ps including the responce time of the Kerr shutter and the gate pulse width in convolution. The attainable pulse width of this dye laser is estimated to be ab-out 1.0 ps or less for the Gaussian pulse profile by deconvolution.