Generation of single ultrashort pulses by configurational cavity dumping

A new method is proposed for generating single ultrashort light pulses without electrooptic or acoustooptic switches. Single light pulses of 30-ps duration and having a contrast ratio greater than 50 were obtained by synchronously pumping a rhodamine 6G dye laser with a train of second harmonic radiation pulses from a passively mode-locked YAG:Nd³⁺ laser. The efficiency of conversion of the pump radiation to the dye laser radiation was 5%.