Statistical properties of pulsed dye laser radiation

Abstract Single-shot spectral measurements of the radiation of an excimer-laser-pumped dye laser were performed with a high-resolution multichannel recording system in order to determine the influence of mode fluctuations and spectral instabilities of the cavity on an average laser linewidth. It is shown for a 3−15X10 -3 nm linewidth, which is typical of commercial lasers in multimode lasing regime, that the standard deviation of the laser linewidth makes up 15 percent of the average amount. The conditions were determined under which the contribution of spectral instabilities of the cavity transmission band becomes essential.