Flashlamp-pumped mode-locked dye lasers

Abstract
Recent developments in the production of tunable picosecond pulses by means of flashlamp-pumped mode-locked dye lasers are reviewed. Particular attention is paid to an extension of the passive dye laser mode-locking technique based on the loss modulation of the gain of a secondary oscillator by means of the pulse train of a master oscillator. The resulting two trains of independently tunable picosecond pulses can be used to monitor a transient species by an excite-probe experiment with one shot only.