Abstract

The statistics of turn-on delay times for a longitudinal mode and the total intensity from a multimode, standing-wave, short-cavity dye laser are measured and compared with numerical simulations of a multimode theory of laser dynamics. The effects of coherent-wave mixing, the number of modes included in the simulation, and the frequency of the mode relative to the emission maximum on the delay-time statistics at various stages of the turn-on are discussed. Differences between the measurements and the theory for the average and standard deviation of the turn-on time are due to transitory modes that decay as a result of frequency-dependent losses and gain. In the system measured, the frequency dependence of the losses is principally due to a weak etalon formed by the gain medium. Associated with this phenomenon is a kink in the time evolution of the mode intensity that represents a transition in the dynamics from domination by independent growth of all modes to domination by competition between modes with differing net gains. This unequal competition increases the average and standard deviation of the mode turn-on time.

© 1992 Optical Society of America