Diode pumped polymer lasers

摘要

In this paper we describe the design and performance of diode-pumped organic lasers based on the poly(paraphenylene-vinylene) derivative MEH-PPV. To achieve the very low oscillation thresholds required for direct diode pumping, we use a novel surface-emitting distributed Bragg reflector cavity. We describe the operating characteristics of such devices when operating below and above threshold, and show that they can combine low threshold operation with the favourable spectral and emission characteristics of DFB lasers. We also describe and characterize an energy transfer gain medium using coumarin 102 laser dye as the host, which has been optimized for efficient harvesting of the diode laser excitation.