Power broadening of the Na-D lines in a flame—I. Time-dependent spectral and spatial properties of a flashlamp pumped dye laser

Prior to power broadening experiments on the Na-D lines in a flame (described in Part II), we investigated the time-dependent spectral and spatial properties of a flashlamp-pumped pulsed dye laser (pulse duration about 800 ns, FWHM), with Rhodamine-6G in methanol as dye liquid and an interference filter combined with a Fabry-Pérot etalon as bandwidth-restricting elements in the cavity. An experimental set-up is described that permits measurements of time-dependent spectra with a time-resolution of 10 ns and a spectral resolution of 2.5 × 10⁵. Results are given for different concentrations of the dye solution and for two different bandwidth settings of the laser. In general the spectral profiles at different moments during the pulse are well described by Gaussian curves. The spatial profiles at different moments during the pulse are best fitted by Lorentzian curves. At small concentrations of the dye solution, the time behaviour of the shift and the bandwidth are in (qualitative) agreement with theoretical predictions, i.e. a narrowing of the bandwidth and a shift to longer wavelengths of the line centre.