Thermal and optical properties of polymer hosts for solid-state dye lasers

We present measurements of thermal and optical properties of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), PMMA modified by the addition of ethanol (MPMMA), and copolymers of methyl methacrylate with 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate [P(HEMA:MMA)]. Spectral transmission of the polymers is excellent (alpha = 0.5 cm(-1...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Applied optics (2004) 1999-04, Vol.38 (12), p.2504-2509
Main Authors: Wadsworth, W J, Giffin, S M, McKinnie, I T, Sharpe, J C, Woolhouse, A D, Haskell, T G, Smith, G J
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:We present measurements of thermal and optical properties of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), PMMA modified by the addition of ethanol (MPMMA), and copolymers of methyl methacrylate with 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate [P(HEMA:MMA)]. Spectral transmission of the polymers is excellent (alpha = 0.5 cm(-1) at 400 nm, decreasing to 0.04 cm(-1) at 633 nm). Measured laser damage thresholds of MPMMA and P(HEMA:MMA) show at least a twofold increase over PMMA. Thermal lensing measured in these hosts doped with Rhodamine 6G is shown to be similar (f = -450 mm for pump power of 200 mW in a 2-mm-diameter spot, scaling with pump intensity). Compared with MPMMA, P(HEMA:MMA) offers an improved surface quality and a more uniform dye distribution.
ISSN:1559-128X
DOI:10.1364/AO.38.002504