Amplified spontaneous emission in narrow-band pulsed dye laser oscillators - Theory and experiment

We have investigated the effect of amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) on the spectral and temporal characteristics of narrow-band pulsed dye laser oscillators. The space and time dependent rate equations for the molecular populations and photon fluxes have been solved numerically to study the dependence of ASE on various laser parameters and the effects of ASE on the spectral and temporal profile of the dye laser output. To account for the diffraction losses present in a real dye laser oscillator, appropriate feedback factors for the laser and ASE photon fluxes were introduced into the boundary conditions for the oscillator. These theoretical results have been substantiated by experimental measurements of ASE in a narrow-band pulsed dye laser oscillator. We show that a considerable reduction of ASE in a grazing incidence grating dye laser oscillator can be obtained by appropriately shaping the pump pulse. Oscillations observed in the temporal output of pulsed dye lasers are also discussed.