| Abstract
| - New hybrid solid-state dye laser materials based on highly porous silica aerogels have been synthesized. Theopen porous network of the aerogel was saturated with laser dyes dissolved in appropriate organic monomers,and polymerization took place inside the silica structure. The resulting polymer-filled nanoporous aerogel(PFNPA) was cast in a cylindrical shape, forming monoliths that were used as gain media in solid-state dyelasers. When the PFNPA incorporated pyrromethene dyes, highly photostable laser emission with good lasingefficiency was obtained. Under the demanding conditions of tightly focused transversal pumping with 532nm, 5 mJ pulses at 10 Hz repetition rate, the commercial dye Pyrromethene 567 exhibited laser action withonly a 10% drop in the laser output after 106 pump pulses in the same position of the sample.
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