Short-pulse ultraviolet fiber Raman laser pumped by a XeCl excimer laser

Abstract
Short-pulse generation by an ultraviolet fiber Raman laser has been studied both experimentally and by computer analysis. A XeCl excimer laser generating 3-nsec pulses pumped a multimode silica fiber. The fiber produced five orders of Stokes pulses in the range 312–331 nm at 2-GW/cm2 input. The duration of these Stokes pulses was controlled by input intensity. The shortest pulse durations were between 1.4 and 1.7 nsec. The pulse waveforms were analyzed by solving coupled differential equations. The calculated results are in agreement with the experimental ones. The effects of modal and wavelength dispersion, four-photon mixing, and two-photon absorption are discussed.