Abstract

Two binary mixtures of ultraviolet laser dyes in p-dioxane solution are described. The tuning curve of each mixture spans more than 30 nm of useful tuning range in the 340–380 nm wavelength region. Both mixtures are robust with half-lives comparable to, or in excess of, associated single dye values. These mixtures degrade symmetrically with dye laser operation, making them useful throughout the entire life of the mixture. A simple model for the mixture lasing, based on independent fluorescences of the component dyes, is able to semi-quantitatively match the tuning curves of the dye mixtures. The results presented should be easily extendable to other dye mixtures.