Solid-State Dye Laser*

The advantage of a dye laser, compared to conventional solid state and gas lasers, is its broad and continuous tuning range within the visible spectrum. Currently, the active medium - a liquid organic dye - is based on partly toxic and carcinogenic solvents, which are either pumped under pressure or held in dye cuvettes.

The liquids used in pumped systems naturally age and can quickly be consumed. As a result, they have to be replaced on a regular basis. Thus, liquid-based dye lasers suffer from a number of problems. First, the replacement and handling of the required liquids can be harmful and can therefore not be used in all applications. Second, these handling problems mean that it can also be difficult to rapidly broaden the tuning range by using another dye.

Dye cuvettes suffer rapid "consumption" of dye, so that a pulsed mode with a low on/ off-ratio is usually necessary if increased downtime for the laser system is to be avoided. These problems in both liquid and cuvette systems mean that the efficiency and power of the laser is decreased, and that the power threshold for laser operation is high.




The presented technology has been designed to address these problems. A thin rotating disk with deposited dye completely replaces the liquid circulator system or dye cuvette. The efficiency and laser power of this solid state dye laser is thus stable, and a continuous-wave (CW) mode is possible. The dye film is very thin, so that the threshold of such systems is very low. Furthermore, this means that the consumption of dyes is low.

One of the key advantages is easy handling, because the dye is embedded in a polymer matrix, and changing the disk is thus safe and easy. By using an automatic handling system, it is possible to create an extremely compact dye laser system which easily can use different dyes to cover a wide tuning range.

• Dye laser
  
• Solid state laser
  
• Rhodamine
  
• Coumarin
  
• (Laser-)Spectroscopy
  
• Colour measurement
  

• Huge cost savings compared to liquid solvent laser systems
  
• No contamination of the environment (no use of liquids)
  
• Broad tuning range expandable by using automatically different dyes
  
• Safe, easy and quick handling of (laser) medium
  
• Pulsed and continuous (CW) modes possible
  
• Safe storage of dye discs
  
• No downtimes during change/replacement of dyes
  
• Reduction of operating costs
  
• Low threshold
  

• (Laser-) Spectroscopy
  
• Gas and liquid analysis
  
• Medical applications
  
• Universities and research institutes
  

Patent No.:
DE102006001308 applied
EP07711325 applied
WO2007080089 applied

Subject: Continuous-wave solid-state laser comprising a dye in a thin rotating layer

Date of Priority: 9.1.2006


This innovation is one of the patent portfolios that was chosen for a patent value fund* and now has been further developed and subsequently commercialized as part of a processing strategy by IPB.

For further information please contact us (Ref.No. P_Farbstofflaser_001763):




*The patents are the property of ZYLUM Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH & Co. Patente II KG