Fourier-transform-limited laser pulses tunable in wavelength and in duration (400-2000 ps)

A combined system of an injection-seeded pulsed dye amplifier and a pulse compressor based on stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) is investigated. It allows for the generation of powerful pulses both tunable in wavelength and in duration. Online tuning of the pulse duration is possible due to the dependence of SBS compression on input energy. A range of 400-2000 ps at up to 100 mJ output energy is demonstrated. The output pulses are temporally and spectrally resolved to investigate the properties of this system. Coherent nearly Fourier-transform-limited pulses of variable pulse duration in the extreme ultraviolet (UV) are produced employing harmonic conversion. As an application of such pulses a single rotational line of H/sub 2/ at 98-nm wavelength is excited, demonstrating that the system may be used for laser-spectroscopic studies to simultaneously gain spectral as well as dynamical information.