Frequency Regime of Generation of a Holographic Distributed Feedback Dye Laser

We carried out an experimental investigation of the frequency regime of generation of a holographic distributed feedback (DF) dye laser. We show that the convection induced in liquid by heating-up a solution in the excitation zone ensures self-pumping of the solution through this zone that is sufficient for stable operation of the laser in the regime of frequently repeating pulses without forced circulation of the solution through the cuvette. It is found that the main condition for the operation of a DF-laser in this regime is the sharp focusing of pumping radiation, which ensures transverse dimensions of the generation zone of less than 1 mm. In experiments, we produced stable generation of a holographic DF dye laser in the regime of self-pumping of a solution with a pulse repetition rate of up to 1 kHz with an efficiency of 10% and a spectral line width of 0.01 nm.