Pyrromethene doped silica laser glasses by sol–gel processes

A new laser dye pyrromethene impregnated solid-state material has been developed for visible wavelength solid-state dye laser by means of a sol–gel process. The use of N,N′-dimethylformamide (DMF) as a drying control chemical additive was found to be effective in order to obtain the best quality silica and organically modified silicate (Ormosil) in terms of monolithicity, transparency and density. The addition of γ-glycidyl-propyl-trimethoxisilane (GPTMS) in Ormosil can efficiently increase the luminescent emission intensity. Using these new materials as laser gain media, an all-solid-state, efficient, compact, long-lifetime and tunable dye laser has been demonstrated.