High power polymer dye laser with improved stability

A polymer dye laser was developed suitable for high-power and high-repetition-rate pump lasers. A maximum output power of the dye laser of 1.5 W was achieved. The output power of the polymer gain medium is demonstrated to be absolutely stable for 4 h within 3% accuracy in a cyclic operation mode with a duty cycle of 83%. The enhanced stability of the gain medium stems from a partial recovery of photodegradation due to the dissociation of intermediate chemically active products which are detected with electron spin resonance and are shown to be produced much faster at elevated temperature. (C) 2004 American Institute of Physics.