Recent advances in polymer dye lasers

Abstract
Experimental results for various type polymer lasers, pumped by different frequency doubled Nd:YAG lasers with pulse energy from 1 to 400 mJ, pulse width from 5 to 500 ns, and pulse repetition rate from 1 to 25,000 Hz, are presented. A dye laser output energy exceeding 280 mJ and an average output power of more than 12 W were demonstrated in a broad band operation mode. A total energy of 190 mJ at 560 nm in a beam divergence of less than 20 mm-mrad is achieved. A tunability over 545-685 nm wavelength range was demonstrated in a narrow band operation mode (linewidth 0.4 cm-1) with more than 30 mJ maximum energy per pulse. A stable output for more than 1 million pulses at 560 nm for motionless modified polymer element at pump fluence 0.5 J/cm2 and more than 200 million pulses for movable element at pump fluence 1 J/cm2 has been achieved.