Laser dye stability,part 11. The fluorinated azacoumarin dyes

The lasing outputs and lifetime constants are reported for the fluorinated azacoumarin dyes, AC2F, AC3F, and AC4F, in a variety of solvents. Most of the tests were made under both air and argon. The best results were obtained using solvents such as ethanol mixed with water or ethylene glycol under air. The dyes AC2F or AC4F gave results that were comparable or superior to those of AC3F. These dyes represent the longest lived of the presently known coumarin laser dyes when used with a solvent capable of hydrogen bonding.     

Laser dye stability,part 10. Effects of DABCO on flashlamp pumping of coumarin dyes

1,4-Diazabicyclo[2.2.2]octane (DABCO) was tested as a flashlamp-pumped laser lifetime-extender with a variety of coumarin dyes and solvents under both air and argon. In a few cases, DABCO could be considered to have extended the lifetime as much as threefold; however, the selection of the appropriate cover gas and/or solvent could often yield a much greater improvement in the absence of DABCO. In general, DABCO was not found to be very valuable as a lifetime-extender. Furthermore, under some conditions DABCO was found to markedly reduce the laser lifetime and output.     

Laser dye stability. Part 3. Bicyclic dyes in ethanol

A commercial coaxial xenon flashlamp has been used to evaluate the stability of a variety of coumarin and quinolone laser dyes. The lasing characteristics of over 30 dyes have been quantitatively evaluated as a function of the total excitation energy to which recirculating dye solution has been exposed. Degradation constants were determined and an evaluation was made of the effects of functional group variation upon the stability of the dyes. Comparison with the data of other workers revealed that exclusion of excitation energy below 220 nm does not change the stability of 4-methyl coumarins, but can increase the stability of other coumarins as much as 50 fold.     

Laser dye stability

Lasing characteristics and bleaching of four Eastman Kodak ir dyes have been examined in dimethyl sulfoxide. These ir dyes are shown to improve in performance in the absence of oxygen. Their photochemical stability was found to be comparable to the quinolone laser dyes when exposed to flashlamp excitation. Photodecomposition of the ir dyes under lasing conditions was found to vary between 1.6 and 6×10⁻¹⁰ moles of dye for each joule (electrical) of input energy; in comparison, the photodecomposition values for the better coumarin dyes was 0.2 to 1.0×10⁻¹⁰ moles/J at a concentration of 1.0×10⁻⁴ M in ethanol. It was also found that increasing the concentration of these tricarbocyanine dyes gives a marked improvement in the useful lifetime of these solutions as lasing media in the absence of oxygen.     

Laser dye stability

The experimental parameters for solution temperature, solvent purity, and ultraviolet (uv) light removal have been examined as they affect the first-order bleaching constant, lasing slope efficiency, lasing threshold, and laser half-life of three dyes using air as the cover gas. A±10°C change from the ambient temperature was found to reduce the lasing output of solutions of the dyes rhodamine 6G, LD-490, and coumarin 102. Improving the purity of the solvent made no dramatic effects but did tend to yield somewhat lower bleaching rates and longer lasing lifetimes. The first-order bleaching constant for the dye LD-490 in several solvents was found to decrease in the order methanol >95% ethanol>ethanol. Although LD-490 in ethanol had twice the laser lifetime of that in methanol, the use of uv light filtration reversed this order. However, LD-490 still bleached faster in methanol than it did in ethanol. Interestingly using the uv filter, germicil quartz, did not decrease the lasing slope efficiency, but it made a slight increase in both the lasing slope efficiency and the lasing threshold. The use of the more strongly absorbing pyrex filter did, however, decrease the lasing slope efficiency as well as increase the threshold.     

Laser dye stability part 1. Flash frequency and fluid filtration effects

A commercial coaxial xenon flashlamp was used to measure laser dye stability. The output energy of each lasing pulse was recorded and periodic measurements were made of the untuned lasing wavelength, the temporal flashlamp output, and the temporal lasing output. The present study demonstrates that it is possible to have a number of different types of apparent dye laser system “half-lifes” through the use of filtration and frequency of flash parameters. The use of near-zero flash frequency and moderate pore size filters allows a determination of the lifetime that is more representative of the dye as opposed to the lifetime of the dye laser system.     

Luminescent coolants for solid-state lasers

Solutions of 13 fluorescent dyes have been used as energy transfer agents in place of the normal coolant of a Nd-YAG laser. Dye mixtures were used in a few cases where incomplete absorption of flashlamp pump energy was observed. Improvements of over 100% in laser output were observed for some dyes having a long Stokes shift when tested at both a low-input energy and a low-pulse rate. However, the absolute improvement in laser output for these dye solutions was small, and the improvement could be obtained almost as well by merely increasing the pulse rate. Various factors associated with the effectiveness of transfer-dye solutions are discussed.     

Energy transfer in slab dye lasers

A simple model of the energy transfer between a booster dye and the active dye in a flashlamp pumped planar waveguide dye laser is described.Analytical results are compared with experiments for several dyes in the 600–650 nm region.A twofold increase of laser output was found at a wavelength (630 nm) which is of particular interest for several applications.     

Synchroscan streak camera study of potential saturable absorbers in the blue spectral region

The viscocity-dependent fluorescence lifetime of some cyanine dyes with peak absorption cross-sections in the 350–500 nm range have been examined using a synchronously operating strek camera in conjunction with the picosecond excitation pulses from a frequency doubled synchronously pumped c.w. dye laser. Through increases in the recovery time of a saturable absorber by employing viscous solutions, the necessary saturation flux is conveniently reduced and passive mode locking of laser systems can occur more easily. This is illustrated by the application of one of the dyes to the mode locking of the coumarin 102 dye laser.     

Fluorescence and Laser Emission from Coumarin-Acridine Orange Mixtures

The sensitized fluorescence and laser emissions of dye mixtures; (I) coumarin 102 (donor) and acridine orange (acceptor) and (II) coumarin 47 (donor) and acridine orange (acceptor) with Hg-lamp and N₂ laser, have been measured as a function of dye concentration and of the pump power (N₂ laser). Acridine orange which does not lase by itself on excitation with N₂ laser, lases efficiently in the presence of 7-amino-coumarins via singlet-singlet energy transfer. Energy transfer rate constants and critical distances have been estimated from fluorescence intensity and lifetime measurements. The performance of energy transfer dye lasers (ETDLs) are discussed in terms of spectral characteristics of the dyes and their penetration depths.     

Laser Spectra and Efficiencies of Pyrazolo Derivatives of Coumarins

Abstract

Of the new laser dyes of coumarin series reported earlier, pyrazolo derivatives have been further studied. The paper reports their laser spectra and efficiencies in various solvents compared to a standard coumarin laser dye C₅₁₅. One of the derivatives shows comparable output under optimum concentration conditions as compared to the standard.     

Laser dye stability part 8

A 3-parameter dye laser degradation equation is introduced that has been based upon a theoretical analysis of a laser oscillator. The new equation and the 4-parameter empirical laser degradation equation used previously in this series are further developed to allow calculation of the lifetime of a dye solution for any fraction of laser output degradation. These lifetime equations are shown to be dependent upon the input energy per pulse and the threshold of lasing. The new 3-parameter equation allows the degradation constants to be determined with less change in laser output than did the original 4-parameter empirical expression.     

Lasing properties of some metal complexes of compounds containing the methyleneiminobisacetic acid group

Aqueous solutions of some fluorescent metal complexes of three compounds containing the methyleneiminobisacetic acid group have been found to show lasing when tested on a pulsed nitrogen laser. Degradation constants for lasing of one of the complexes and of the corresponding uncomplexed dye have been determined by coaxial flashlamp pumping.     

Enhanced laser performances based on energy transfer in multi-dyes co-doped solid media

Various coumarin dyes are co-doped with perylene red (P-red) and pyrromethene 567 (PM567) into vinyltriethoxysilane-derived solid media, respectively. Energy transfer among laser dyes has been observed, and the effect of coumarin dye concentration on the laser properties has been investigated. With the presence of coumarin dye and pyrromethene 567, enhanced laser performances based on energy transfer of perylene red have been exhibited. The laser efficiency can be improved by two-fold and broad tunable range as wide as 80 nm can be achieved. At the pump intensity of 1.0 J/cm², the laser output of co-doping perylene red decreases less than 30% after 30,000 pulses.     

非相关双束可调谐染料激光器实验研究

本文报道了研制成功的闪光灯泵浦矩形非相关双束可调谐染料激光器,它可同时在两种染料中获得双束激光输出,具有频差大、脉冲同步、无模式竞争等特点。文中给出了装置结构和典型实验结果,并做了简单讨论。 关键词：     

Laser dye stability. Part 4

Changes in the absorption of a dye laser solution are examined after excitation with a xenon flashlamp. It is found that the rate of bleaching as a function of the total input energy of coumarin or quinolone dyes in ethanol increases in direct proportion to the dye concentration. This relationship suggests that the dye reacts with a photoproduct of the solvent rather than being directly decomposed by the xenon flash. We have measured the conversion of the dye to form products,P, absorbing at the lasing wavelength. Results correspond to the dye reacting with a precursor ofP to form either insoluble products or ones not absorbing at the lasing wavelength. Thus larger total amounts of bleached dye do not proportionately increaseP, and hence do not proportionately inhibit lasing. Furthermore, we find thatP increases with the total input energy fairly independent of the rate of bleaching for a given bicyclic dye in an alcohol solution.     

Laser dye stability. Part 4

Changes in the absorption of a dye laser solution are examined after excitation with a xenon flashlamp. It is found that the rate of bleaching as a function of the total input energy of coumarin or quinolone dyes in ethanol increases in direct proportion to the dye concentration. This relationship suggests that the dye reacts with a photoproduct of the solvent rather than being directly decomposed by the xenon flash. We have measured the conversion of the dye to form products,P, absorbing at the lasing wavelength. Results correspond to the dye reacting with a precursor ofP to form either insoluble products or ones not absorbing at the lasing wavelength. Thus larger total amounts of bleached dye do not proportionately increaseP, and hence do not proportionately inhibit lasing. Furthermore, we find thatP increases with the total input energy fairly independent of the rate of bleaching for a given bicyclic dye in an alcohol solution.     

A large coaxial lidar for elastic and inelastic scattering studies of the stratosphere

A very powerful, fixed zenith laser radar system, based upon a liquid dye laser, is described in detail. The laser is a linear flashlamp pumped dye system capable of an average power output of 6W at a prf of 3 s^–1 using rhodamine 6G dye and about 3W with the same prf using esculin monohydrate dye. The use of this laser as a transmitting source in the lidar system has permitted the detection of Stokes shifted vibration/rotation Raman back-scattered light from neutral nitrogen in the stratosphere and from these measurements, stratospheric temperature profiles have been derived. The lidar has also been used to study elastic backscattering from the stratosphere at two wavelengths and preliminary results of a new technique for studying stratospheric aerosol are presented.     

Influence of various coumarin dyes on the laser performance of laser dyes co-doped into ORMOSILs

Several kinds of coumarin dyes (C440, C460, C500, C503 and C540A) were co-doped with perylene red (p-red) or pyrromethene 567 (p567) into VTES- and MTES-derived organically modified silicates (ORMOSILs) respectively, by the sol-gel process. The effects of coumarin dyes and their concentration on the laser properties and photostabilities of p-redand p567 were studied and the mechanisms involved were discussed. At optimized coumarin dye concentration, the slope efficiency of co-doped p-redincreased by a factor of 2 while only minor increases in the laser efficiency of p567 were observed. A broader tunable range with increased conversion efficiency and at least a 3-fold improvement in the photostabilities of p-redand p567 in the presence of coumarin family dyes have also been achieved. The mechanism responsible for the improvement in the laser performances and photostabilities of p-redand p567 resulted from the energy transfer between p-red/567 and coumarin dyes. PACS PACS 42.55.Mv; 42.55.Rz; 42.70.Hj     

Spectral narrowing in a dye laser with non-resonant feedback

The temporal development of the spectral output of a flashlamp pumped dye laser, having non-resonant feedback achieved by means of fibre optics, has been studied using a streak camera. Spectral narrowing from 40 nm (the bandwidth of the spontaneous fluorescence of the system) to 2.5 nm has been observed, with the degree of spectral narrowing depending upon the output power.