Optical Pumping of Dye Lasers Using an Array of Plasma Pinches

A new optical pumping source consisting of an array of plasma pinches is employed to pump, for the first time, a variety of dye lasers. The plasma pinch is formed in a hollow cylindrical shape by electrically discharging a high-energy capacitor bank ((TURN)14 kJ) through a device containing a few torrs of hydrogen, deuterium or nitrogen gas. A dye cuvette is inserted along the symmetry axis of the plasma device such that it may be surrounded by the plasma pinch. Control of the plasma fluorescence is achieved by the choice of gas, its fill pressure, and the capacitor bank voltage and its stored energy. The rise time of this "plasma flashlamp" depends mainly on the gas species and the fill pressure. The shorter the rise time, the smaller the triplet quenching of the dye, resulting in higher laser output power. The light from the plasma pinch is very intense and rich in ultraviolet, which makes it an attractive optical pumping source for dye lasers, particularly in the blue-green spectral region. Output energy of (TURN)2 mJ per cm('3) of lasing medium or 2 kW/cm('3) for a 1-(mu)s laser pulse is obtained from rhodamine 6G, coumarin 480, LD-490, and coumarin 504 dyes.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Electrical Engineering

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2014

Author dc:creator

• Rieger, Harry

• Engineering, Electronics and Electrical

Identifier

(UMI)AAI8302969

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/69243