Behavior of photochromic film under high power laser excitation

In general, many photochromic materials should behave quite differently when excited by a high power laser beam than would be expected for low power, long exposure time excitation. Specifically, this behavior has been observed for type 63-071 film, supplied by American Cyanamid Corporation, and the resulting high power excitation characteristics have been recorded and evaluated. An empirical excitation model is discussed and it is shown that all experimental results obtained can be predicted using this model. Finally, it is shown that for applications requiring cw laser excitation of a photochromic material the combination of an argon ion laser and type 63-071 photochromic film is compatible and attractive.