Abstract

A knowledge of the amplitude and phase of ultrashort pulses is important for the interpretation of certain experiments. Also it is of significance in studying the interplay of the various physical mechanisms which shape the pulses inside the laser cavity. The CPM dye laser is one of the most studied sources of ultrashort pulses, and the physical mechanisms responsible for its wide variety of operating regimes are well known. However, the pulse shapes in the the normal (i.e., nonsolitonlike) regime of operation are not known; based on the various analytical models it is generally assumed they are hyperbolic secant in amplitude.

© 1992 Optical Society of America