Wadsworth WJ, Giffin SM, McKinnie IT, Sharpe JC, Woolhouse AD, Haskell TG, Smith GJ. Thermal and optical properties of polymer hosts for solid-state dye lasers.
APPLIED OPTICS 1999;
38:2504-2509. [PMID:
18319819 DOI:
10.1364/ao.38.002504]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/26/2023]
Abstract
We present measurements of thermal and optical properties of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), PMMA modified by the addition of ethanol (MPMMA), and copolymers of methyl methacrylate with 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate [P(HEMA:MMA)]. Spectral transmission of the polymers is excellent (alpha = 0.5 cm(-1) at 400 nm, decreasing to 0.04 cm(-1) at 633 nm). Measured laser damage thresholds of MPMMA and P(HEMA:MMA) show at least a twofold increase over PMMA. Thermal lensing measured in these hosts doped with Rhodamine 6G is shown to be similar (f = -450 mm for pump power of 200 mW in a 2-mm-diameter spot, scaling with pump intensity). Compared with MPMMA, P(HEMA:MMA) offers an improved surface quality and a more uniform dye distribution.
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