Spectral characteristics of a short-pulse red-green-blue dye mixture laser

Three-primary-color laser emissions of blue, green, and red were simultaneously obtained by using a Coumarin 460 (C460)/Disodium Fluorescein (DF)/Cresyl Violet (CV) mixture and a C460/DF/LD690 (LD) dye mixture excited by a nitrogen laser. The center wavelengths were 455 nm (C460; 4.8 x 10(-3) mol/L), 526 nm (DF; 2.4 x 10(-4) mol/L), and 630 nm (CV; 2.2 x 10(-4) mol/L) in the C460/DF/CV dye mixture laser, and 466 nm (C460; 4.8 x 10(-3) mol/L), 521 nm (DF; 2.4 x 10(-4) mol/L), and 650 nm (LD; 1.2 x 10(-3) mol/L) in the C460/DF/LD dye mixture laser. The pulse widths of the dye mixture lasers were several nanoseconds. The differences in oscillation wavelength (wavelength shift caused by mixing) and threshold concentration among the three dye mixtures, two dye mixtures, and the individual dyes that were used for the mix are experimentally described. A theoretical discussion of the selection of suitable dyes and the calculated results that were obtained by using the rate equations and the laser gain equations for the estimation of suitable concentrations for the dye mixture laser are also described.