Highly efficient solid-state distributed feedback dye laser based on polymer-filled nanoporous glass composite excited by a diode-pumped solid-state Nd:LSB microlaser.

Realization of a compact, robust, highly stable, and efficient solid-state distributed feedback (DFB) dye laser based on pyrromethene 580-doped modified poly-(methyl methacrylate) embedded into nanoporous glass host is reported. A diode-pumped solid-state STA01SH-500 Nd:LSB microlaser (λ=532  nm; τ_0.5∼0.5  ns; E_P≤80  μJ; f≤500  Hz) is used as a pump source. When pumped well above threshold, a DFB laser emits a train of ultrashort pulses (τ≤1  ns; τ_0.5<0.5  ns; Δλ_0.5≤0.01  nm), while at excitation intensities not far from threshold, single transform-limited picosecond pulses (τ_0.5≤40  ps; τ_0.5Δν_0.5∼0.3), tunable from 541 to 598 nm, are generated. The DFB lasing efficiency reaches ∼60% upon an energy stability of ∼1.4% and an overall service life of the active element of ∼9×10⁷ laser shots. More than an order of magnitude increase in the temperature stability of a lasing wavelength as compared with ethanol solutions of laser dyes is practically demonstrated.