INFLUENCE OF THE PUMP RADIATION POLARIZAT ION ON THE EFFICIENCY OF PULSED DYE-LASERS

An experimental investigation was made of the dependence of the effici ency of transversely pumped ethanol-solution dye lasers on the orienta tion of the pump radiation polarisation relative to the optic axis of the laser. The results showed that the output radiation energy of such dye lasers had its maximum value for the pump polarisation oriented a long the optic axis, but was independent of the orientation of the out put radiation polarisation. A comparison was made of the relative effi ciencies of conversion of the pump radiation in a dye laser amplifier for various mutual orientations of the pump and output radiation polar isations. The efficiency of such an amplifier obtained for the colline ar and orthogonal (relative to the laser optic axis) polarisations was 1.3-2 times higher than the efficiency obtained for combinations of m utually orthogonal polarisations.