Results in Physics (Nov 2023)
A low-cost, highly efficient solid-state dye laser made of Rhodamine B dopped photopolymer host cured by mercury or halogen lamp
Abstract
In this work, we designed a rod shape solid-state laser gain media (GM) that can produce amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) in the 630–670 nm region. The GM is made with Rhodamine B (RhB) dissolved in acetone mixed with commercially available rapid photopolymer (PP) resin that predominately (80 %) contains 3-nitro-9-octyl-9H-carbazole (NOCB) and solidified with mercury or halogen lamp. We used a solid-state matrix laser (SSL) rod of RhB embedded NOCB. The results showed that the photoluminescence (PL) of SSL was at approximately 630 m, and the absorption peak was at 575 nm. The concentration of the RhB in acetone was varied from 25 mg/ml to 100 mg/ml and mixed in a 1:10 ratio volume/weight (v/w). GM could be pumped transversely using 355 nm (3rd Harmonic of Nd: YAG) or 405 nm diode laser or a UV lamp. The GM was initially designed with the aim to be pumped using 532 nm since the resin solidified using UV and blue light irradiation. Supersizing, we found that after complete polymerization, optical pumping using 355 nm can be employed to produce ASE. The main advantage of using these SSL are (i) ease of manufacturing, (ii) simplicity to scale up, (iii) low cost, and (iv) 3D printer compatibility. It also has potential applications in the military, science, and medicine, especially facial rejuvenation.
