Broadband laser mirrors made from porous silicon

We have designed, fabricated, and tested laser mirrors made entirely from porous silicon (PSi). PSi high reflectors and output couplers were designed for continuous-wave and mode-locked Ti:Sapphire lasers that were tuned between 730 nm and 940 nm. The mode-locked version of this laser produced 80 fs pulses at 85 MHz, parameters very similar to those observed with the commercial mirrors. We also made a PSi-dye laser by inserting a dye-filled cuvette between two PSi mirrors that was pumped from the side with a pulsed, frequency doubled, Nd:YAG laser. Lasers working with the PSi mirrors exhibited stable operation over time. (C) 2004 American Institute of Physics.