Silicon-containing organic matrices as hosts for highly photostable solid-state dye lasers

Modified polymeric matrices incorporating silicon atoms in their structure and doped with lasing dyes have been synthesized and demonstrated to render improved laser performance. When transversely pumped at 532 nm, highly stable laser operation with reasonable, not-optimized efficiencies was obtained. Materials were prepared where dyes pyrromethene 567 and pyrromethene 597 emitted laser radiation with no sign of degradation in the laser output, albeit with some oscillations, after 100 000 pump pulses in the same position of the sample at 10 Hz repetition rate. (C) 2004 American Institute of Physics.