Numerical modeling of the radiation kinetics of a two-section bleaching-wave dye laser

Calculations were made of the influence of inhomogeneities of the pumping and of the intracavity lasing field on the radiation kinetics of bleaching-wave dye lasers. The thickness of the active medium was 6 cm and the duration of the transverse monochromatic pumping was 40–60 μs. For given inhomogeneities the lasing zone became spatially split into two separate sections. The positions of these split sections changed when the pump intensities and their times of initiation were altered. A mirror "traveling" synchronously with the wave, having a temporally and spatially varying transmission coefficient, should eliminate this splitting of the lasing zone in a bleaching-wave dye laser and maintain high radiation efficiencies (~ 20%) throughout the excitation pulse.