Subpicosecond-pulse development in a colliding-pulse mode-locking dye laser pumped by a pulsed xenon laser.

We obtain 0.34-psec optical pulses by using a long-pulse xenon-ion laser as a pump source in a colliding-pulse mode-locking (CPM) configuration. The pump shape is an important parameter affecting the development of short pulses. Some characteristics of xenon- and argon-laser-pumped CPM systems are compared.