Self-curable solid-state elastic dye lasers capable of mechanical stress probing
Yu Yang1, Zhifu Liao, Yuan Zhou
1State Key Laboratory of Silicon Materials, Cyrus Tang Center for Sensor Materials and Applications, Department of Materials Science & Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
Optics Letters
|August 14, 2013
Summary
A novel stress probe uses a pyrromethene 597 (PM597) doped film in a microcavity laser. This highly sensitive method offers excellent photostability and rapid recovery for mechanical stress monitoring.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Optics and Photonics
- Chemical Engineering
Background:
- Developing sensitive and durable mechanical stress probes is crucial for various applications.
- Existing methods often face limitations in sensitivity, photostability, or recovery time.
Purpose of the Study:
- To report a highly sensitive stress probe based on pyrromethene 597 (PM597) doped elastic polydimethylsiloxane films.
- To demonstrate a straightforward probing method for mechanical stress using a solid-state microcavity laser.
Main Methods:
- Fabrication of PM597 doped elastic polydimethylsiloxane films.
- Construction of a solid-state microcavity laser by sandwiching the doped film between two plano dichromatic mirrors.
- Monitoring mechanical stress via changes in the laser output spectra.
Main Results:
- Achieved a low laser threshold of approximately 0.2 μJ.
- Demonstrated a stress resolution limit higher than 0.01 MPa.
- Observed exceptional photostability for PM597 exceeding 7222 GJ/mol.
- Reported fast self-recovery of laser output in less than 1 hour.
Conclusions:
- The developed microcavity laser serves as a practical and durable stress probe.
- The probe exhibits high sensitivity, superior photostability, and rapid recovery, making it suitable for real-world applications.
- The observed dye molecule diffusion contributes to the probe's practical durability.
