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There is a lot of information that should be included about this complicated topic. The toughest thing about building a dye laser is the speed at which the molecules change from a singlet state to a triplet state. Depending on the dye and solvent used, flash pumped lasers experience this change in roughly 1 to 2 microseconds. Also the lasing threshold is extremely high, further complicating the problem. (In plain English, the flash mush have an extremely short duration, and be able to bring the dye past threshold before useful fluorescence becomes useless phosphorescence, at which point the dye becomes partialy opaque, cutting off the beam.) Continuous wave lasers solve this problem by constantly pumping the dye at very high speeds. Further complicating the situation is thermal shock from the flashlamp, causing turbulent changes in the dye's refractive index. Dye cells and flashlamps are often encased in a water cooled pumping cavity, which helps absorb IR radiation before it can reach the dye.
Another complication is that liquid dyes are extremely high-gain/high-loss lasers. The beam only needs to make a few passes through the dye for high gains in power, (therefore, the output mirror is usually only about 80% reflective), but any reflections generated by the dye cell walls will dramatic sap power from the beam.
The "Construction" section, I think, should be relabeled the "Operation" section, and expanded upon. A section named "construction" should be added which summerizes the various types of dye lasers, including but not limited to: Flash Pumped Lasers, Axial Flash Pumped Lasers, Continuious Wave Lasers, and Ring Lasers. Also, an "Application" section should be added, since the applications for dye lases are often very specialize when compared to other lasers.
The "Chemical" section should be expanded upon to include solvents, and even some slight mention of flammiblity, corrosion, and health hazards. (Solvents are often extremely flammible and can be absorbed directly through the skin or inhaled vapors, and dyes, such as Rhodamine 590 chloride, can be extremely corrosive to all metals except stainless steel, whith "undetermined" health risks).
Last, the "Ultra-Short" section should also be expanded upon. (ie: Ultra short pulses are possilbe due to the dye's short fluorecence lifetime, but usually require the use of special "Negative Group Velocity Dispersion" mirrors, and such).
For some good references on the subject see: Design and Analysis of Flashlamp Systems for Pumping Organic Dye Lasers – J. F. Holzrichter and A. L. Schawlow. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, or Simmer-Enhanced Flashlamp Pumped Dye Laser – T.K. Yee, B. Fan and T.K. Gustafson. Applied Optics – Vol. 18, No. 8 , or read the book "Principles of Lasers", by Orazio Svelto. More good info can be found at http://members.misty.com/don/xeguide.html#eg , or check out Sam's detailed website at http://www.repairfaq.org/sam/lasercdy.htm Zaereth ( talk) 00:08, 14 November 2008 (UTC)
I have added the information discussed above, (except for the wrong ultra fast stuff). If there is any question or comment, please leave it here. Zaereth ( talk) 02:11, 6 January 2009 (UTC)
In the context of dye lasers, what is a "dye"? How is it different from a something like the gain medium of a YAG laser? The article just says it's an "organic dye", but that doesn't sound too specific. —Ben FrantzDale ( talk) 18:05, 26 August 2011 (UTC)
Moreover, the dye can be replaced by another type in order to generate an even broader range of wavelengths with the same laser, from the near-infrared to the near-ultraviolet, although this usually requires replacing other optical components in the laser as well.
What is the point of this remark? Should we view it as a further form of tunability, or just a way to take apart and rebuild a laser? 178.38.74.237 ( talk) 18:40, 21 February 2015 (UTC)
From Coumarin : Coumarin is also used as a gain medium in some dye lasers,[3][4][5] — Preceding unsigned comment added by 91.155.19.68 ( talk) 23:06, 16 April 2017 (UTC)
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There is a lot of information that should be included about this complicated topic. The toughest thing about building a dye laser is the speed at which the molecules change from a singlet state to a triplet state. Depending on the dye and solvent used, flash pumped lasers experience this change in roughly 1 to 2 microseconds. Also the lasing threshold is extremely high, further complicating the problem. (In plain English, the flash mush have an extremely short duration, and be able to bring the dye past threshold before useful fluorescence becomes useless phosphorescence, at which point the dye becomes partialy opaque, cutting off the beam.) Continuous wave lasers solve this problem by constantly pumping the dye at very high speeds. Further complicating the situation is thermal shock from the flashlamp, causing turbulent changes in the dye's refractive index. Dye cells and flashlamps are often encased in a water cooled pumping cavity, which helps absorb IR radiation before it can reach the dye.
Another complication is that liquid dyes are extremely high-gain/high-loss lasers. The beam only needs to make a few passes through the dye for high gains in power, (therefore, the output mirror is usually only about 80% reflective), but any reflections generated by the dye cell walls will dramatic sap power from the beam.
The "Construction" section, I think, should be relabeled the "Operation" section, and expanded upon. A section named "construction" should be added which summerizes the various types of dye lasers, including but not limited to: Flash Pumped Lasers, Axial Flash Pumped Lasers, Continuious Wave Lasers, and Ring Lasers. Also, an "Application" section should be added, since the applications for dye lases are often very specialize when compared to other lasers.
The "Chemical" section should be expanded upon to include solvents, and even some slight mention of flammiblity, corrosion, and health hazards. (Solvents are often extremely flammible and can be absorbed directly through the skin or inhaled vapors, and dyes, such as Rhodamine 590 chloride, can be extremely corrosive to all metals except stainless steel, whith "undetermined" health risks).
Last, the "Ultra-Short" section should also be expanded upon. (ie: Ultra short pulses are possilbe due to the dye's short fluorecence lifetime, but usually require the use of special "Negative Group Velocity Dispersion" mirrors, and such).
For some good references on the subject see: Design and Analysis of Flashlamp Systems for Pumping Organic Dye Lasers – J. F. Holzrichter and A. L. Schawlow. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, or Simmer-Enhanced Flashlamp Pumped Dye Laser – T.K. Yee, B. Fan and T.K. Gustafson. Applied Optics – Vol. 18, No. 8 , or read the book "Principles of Lasers", by Orazio Svelto. More good info can be found at http://members.misty.com/don/xeguide.html#eg , or check out Sam's detailed website at http://www.repairfaq.org/sam/lasercdy.htm Zaereth ( talk) 00:08, 14 November 2008 (UTC)
I have added the information discussed above, (except for the wrong ultra fast stuff). If there is any question or comment, please leave it here. Zaereth ( talk) 02:11, 6 January 2009 (UTC)
In the context of dye lasers, what is a "dye"? How is it different from a something like the gain medium of a YAG laser? The article just says it's an "organic dye", but that doesn't sound too specific. —Ben FrantzDale ( talk) 18:05, 26 August 2011 (UTC)
Moreover, the dye can be replaced by another type in order to generate an even broader range of wavelengths with the same laser, from the near-infrared to the near-ultraviolet, although this usually requires replacing other optical components in the laser as well.
What is the point of this remark? Should we view it as a further form of tunability, or just a way to take apart and rebuild a laser? 178.38.74.237 ( talk) 18:40, 21 February 2015 (UTC)
From Coumarin : Coumarin is also used as a gain medium in some dye lasers,[3][4][5] — Preceding unsigned comment added by 91.155.19.68 ( talk) 23:06, 16 April 2017 (UTC)