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