A reliable thyratron-switched flashlamp-pumped dye laser

A thyratron-switched flashlamp-pumped dye laser capable of an average power of approximately 1 watt operating at 40 pulses/sec with a bandwidth of several GHz is described. The lamps are run in a high-current simmering mode to decrease lamp inductance and extend lamp life. In heavy use the laser system has proven to be very reliable with lamp life-times in excess of 10⁷ shots and half-power dye lifetimes of better than 10⁶ J/1 for Rhodamine 6G.     

Optical properties of fiber optics materials

The advances in optical waveguides have permitted a clear measurement of many glass properties normally obscured by impurities in conventional glasses. Among these is the intrinsic optical absorption in both the infrared and ultraviolet regions. The wavelength dependence and the statistical fluctuations of another intrinsic property, the refractive index, have also been determined in detail. Knowing accurately the foregoing characteristics of “pure” glasses, deviations due to additives are easier to detect. This has led to absorption determinations for atomic defects and selected impurities as well as for deliberate additions of other oxides.