A New Sol-gel Host Material For Improved Solid Dye Lasers

Triton Systems, Inc., proposes an innovative exploratory research program to fabricate and test, by lasing, a new and unique sol-gel host material for improved dye lasers, called "SupraGel." These materials will allow for the development of dye lasers of improved efficiency, longer lifetime, higher mecahnical integrity, improved machineability, and improved optical quality. Specifically, the resulting material will address the drawbacks associated with competing systems such as thermal lensing, lasing efficiency, laser life, process complexity and user-friendliness and demonstrate the potentials of this unique new system by fabricating ruggedized transmissive host laser medium that will have minimal optical defects, high mechanical strength, and minimal dye-host interaction; all compared to Ormosil sol-gel-polymer media. In Phase I of this program, we will produce and characterize several candidate SupraGel host materials, several dye-host samples, and we will lase one or more of these laser dye-host materials. In Phase II, we plan to optimize the process and study the structure-property relationship of the proposed systems. ANTICIPATED BENEFITS: The proposed program will develop a tunable visible light laser, without the problems of fluid flow management, potential toxicity, and potential flammability that are associated with fluid dye lasers. The successful Phase I program will allow the development of a test dye laser in Phase II that can be adapted to military, medical, R&D and communication applications.