Abstract
Organic dye lasers have proved to be a high-intensity source of monochromatic radiation that can be tuned to any desired wavelength in the visible range of the spectrum. In this contribution the basic principles of dye laser operation are treated within the model of a suitably modified four-level laser, described in the rate equation approach. The tuning methods based on dispersion by prisms, diffraction by gratings, interferometric effects and polarization effects are discussed. In addition, examples of dye lasers, which are rapidly tunable or which emit simultaneously two or more wavelengths, and some interesting properties of ring lasers are presented.

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