Photodimer Distributed Feedback Laser

A tunable (0.567–0.605 μ) solid-state dye laser with a small active volume (10 μ×80 μ×1 cm), which uses a nondestructively read-reversible optical-memory material to control the intensity and wavelength of the laser emission, is described. The optical-memory material, photodimers of acridizinium ethylhexanesulfonate, provides distributed feedback in the form of an adjustable-period phase grating which can be optically written (0.364 μ) or erased (0.313 μ). Reproducibility of laser switching, time and spectral structure, and operation at low temperatures where photodegradation of the dye is significantly reduced are discussed.