Glass Host Dye Laser

Currently, dye lasers use dyes that are dissolved in a solvent and then flowed througha cell or jet. Although this is a successful solution to achieve a working dye lser system with tunability over a broad spectrum, there are also significant limitations to the full realization of the potentail ofthis medium. Primarily, liquid hosts adversely affect the thermodynamic, spectroscopic, and kinetic properties of the dye. In addition, disadvantages such as flammability, toxicity and leakage of carcinogens make these laser rods unsafe to handle. In order to create more sophisticated and highly manageable compact systems, a solid state dye laser is an attractive and beneficial concept to consider as a replacement for current liquid dye lasers. GELTECH, Inc. proposes in this Phase I program, to develop prototype dye lasers by impregnation of a porous glass host made from their patented sol-gel process to demonstrate the feasibility of fabricating solid state dye lasers with improved efficiency and lower production costs. This approach can provide important advantages over the current sol-gel methods under development in other companies and universities. ANTICIPATED BENEFITS: The ability to have a tunable solid state dye laser that avoids the complex dye-flow systems currently used will enable flexible designs of convenient, storable, lighweight systems at a lower cost. This will impact such commercial applications such as therapeutic medicine, dermatology and urology. Benefits to military applicatoins include remote sensing, laser blinders, and BW/CW devices.