Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 17, 2026
08:48
Low-cost Custom Fabrication and Mode-locked Operation of an All-normal-dispersion Femtosecond Fiber Laser for Multiphoton Microscopy
Published on: November 22, 2019
Organic dye lasers with distributed Bragg reflector grating and distributed feedback resonator.
Naoto Tsutsumi1, Takashi Ishibashi
1Department of Macromolecular Science and Engineering, Graduate School of Science and Technology, Kyoto Institute of Technology, Sakyo, Kyoto, Japan. tsutsumi@kit.ac.jp
Optics Express
|December 10, 2009
Summary
Researchers developed polymeric waveguide dye lasers using distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) gratings and distributed feedback (DFB) resonators. DBR gratings offer a lower lasing threshold than DFB resonators for these novel polymer lasers.
Area of Science:
- Optics and Photonics
- Materials Science
- Polymer Science
Background:
- Polymeric waveguide dye lasers offer potential for compact and tunable light sources.
- Integration of resonant structures like DBR gratings and DFB resonators is crucial for laser performance.
Purpose of the Study:
- To fabricate and characterize polymeric waveguide dye lasers incorporating DBR gratings and DFB resonators.
- To compare the lasing performance, specifically threshold and slope efficiency, of DBR-based versus DFB-based polymeric waveguide lasers.
Main Methods:
- Fabrication of DBR gratings and DFB resonators on SU-8 2002 photoresist using laser beam interference.
- Incorporation of Coumarin 6 laser dye and Alq host into polystyrene (PS) and poly(vinyl butyral) (PVB) polymer waveguides.
- Characterization of single-mode TE lasing, threshold, and slope efficiency.
Main Results:
- Successful fabrication of polymeric waveguides with integrated DBR gratings and DFB resonators.
- Single-mode TE lasing was achieved in both DBR and DFB configurations.
- DBR gratings exhibited a lower lasing threshold compared to DFB resonators (e.g., 0.1 mJ/cm²/pulse for PVB/Alq/Coumarin 6 with DBR vs. 0.3 mJ/cm²/pulse with DFB).
- Slope efficiencies ranged from 0.06% to 0.15% depending on the waveguide material and resonator type.
Conclusions:
- Polymeric waveguide dye lasers with DBR gratings demonstrate superior lasing threshold performance compared to DFB resonators.
- The choice of polymer host (PS or PVB) and resonator design impacts the overall laser efficiency.
- These findings contribute to the development of efficient and tunable polymeric laser devices.
