Spectral properties of a pulsed dye laser with monochromatic injection

Abstract

If monochromatic radiation is injected into a pulsed dye laser the output occurs in a few modes of the dye laser cavity around the frequency of injection. The frequency of the injected radiation need not coincide with any of the cavity mode frequencies, provided the initial gain is sufficiently large. The number of oscillating modes in the output is largely determined by the dynamics of the pumping process during the build-up of the laser oscillations. Experimental results and a simple theoretical model are presented.