Flashlamp-pumped lasers with aqueous micellar dye solutions

A study was made of the parameters of the output radiation of lasers in which aqueous micellar solutions of dyes were excited by flashlamp pumping. The efficiency and photostability of such solutions were considerably poorer than alcohol solutions. It was found that the addition of cyclooctatetraene (COT) to aqueous micellar solutions of dyes was accompanied by a strong increase in the output radiation energy. Aqueous micellar solutions of rhodamines containing COT were characterized by a high photostability when excited with light of λ > 450 nm and the output energy was much higher than that obtained from alcohol solutions. It was found that the relative efficiency of lasing of aqueous micellar solutions of dyes with COT (compared with alcohol solutions) increased on increase in the resonator length and on increase in the pulse duration. The divergence of the radiation emitted from a laser utilizing aqueous micellar solutions was an order of magnitude less than in the case of alcohol solutions. The positive effect of the COT additive was demonstrated for a number of phosphors of different classes emitting in the spectral range 500–650 nm.