Conditions for cw operation of a dye laser subject to thermooptic inhomogeneities in the active medium

An analysis is made of the conditions for cw operation of a dye laser subject to thermooptic inhomogeneities which appear in the active medium under the action of pump radiation. Calculations allow for the inhomogeneous distribution of the gain across a cell containing the dye solution. The spatial distribution of the laser radiation on the exit mirror of the resonator is accounted for. It is shown that the gain inhomogeneity has a considerable influence on the suppression of lasing in the case of pulses of microsecond duration.