Enhanced laser characteristics of pyrromethene 650 using modified PMMA as solid hosts

Solid-state samples based on modified polymethyl methacrylate (MPMMA) with methanol doped with the dye pyrromethene 650 (PM650) are prepared. The effects of a volume percentage of methanol on the laser characteristics of the sample, including spectra properties, slope efficiency, photostability and tunable properties, are investigated. The broadband dye laser output wavelength is around 655 nm and a highest slope efficiency of 32.23% is achieved. Pumping the samples at a repetition rate of 5 Hz with a pulse energy of as high as 100 mJ (the fluence is 0.26 J/cm²), the longest lifetime (168000 shots) is obtained in the sample (MMA:methanol=18:2), and the corresponding normalized photostability reaches 109.19 GJ/mol. When the sample (MMA:methanol=18:2) is placed in a Shoshan-type oscillator, the narrow-linewidth operation is a continuous tuning range (up to 64 nm). The results indicate that the laser characteristics of solid-state dyes can be greatly enhanced by using modified PMMA with methanol serving as the solid host.