Solid-state laser using a rhodamine-doped silica gel compound

The lasing action of organically modified silica gel (ORMOSIL) host media doped with laser dyes, rhodamine 6G, and rhodamine B is described. The laser is a monolithic design pumped transversely by a pulsed Nd:YAG laser. Conversion efficiencies as high as 39% were observed with usable lifetimes exceeding 50000 pulses. With a 500- mu J pump source, typical output energies of 200 mu J were produced. The values obtained for the lifetime go well beyond the photostability behavior reported in prior studies. Moreover, this work shows that a simple monolithic solid-state laser pumped by a pulsed Nd:YAG is capable of producing broadband spectral output of 100-kW peak power. More detailed investigations are currently underway with different dyes and pump cavity configurations.>