Abstract

The use of the distributed feedback dye laser (DFDL) first reported by Kogelnik and Shank¹ in the production of ultrashort pulses has been well documented. By pumping well above threshold, however, the picosecond relaxation oscillations are rapidly damped out and nanosecond pulses can be obtained. The frequency selective nature of Bragg scattering ensures narrow spectral width operation provided that a single-mode pump laser is used. In the simple tunable geometry of Shank et ah,² the linewidth of the DFDL output is proportional to and of similar magnitude to that of the pump laser.

© 1991 Optical Society of America