Review: Dye Lasers

Presented by: Mohab Sameh

Supervisor: Dr. Haitham Omran

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 Content

• Physics

• Continuous Wave Dye Lasers

• Ultrashort Pulse Dye Lasers

• Optofluidic Dye Lasers

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 Motivation: Why Dye Lasers?
• Easily tunable over wide range of wavelengths
• Can be used in solid/liquid/gas state
• Dye liquid solutions most used, as liquids are self-
repairing
• Comparable output power to solid state laser’s
• Cost of active medium (organic dyes) negligibly small
compared to semiconductor lasers

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 Physics: Singlet/Triplet States
• Multiplicity is an indication of the total electron spin relative to orbital
angular momentum.

• Multiplicity rule: 2s+1, where s is the total angular momentum (sum of

electron spins)

• Singlet state: 2s+1 = 2(½ + (-½)) + 1 = 1 (hence singlet)

• Triplet state: 2s+1 = 2(½ + ½) = 3 (hence triplet)

• Note: In singlet state, the electrons are paired (according to Pauli

exclusion), in triplet state they are unpaired

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 Physics: Dye Emissions

Fig.1: Singlet and Triplet states [2][3]

Note: Laser emission will not be reabsorbed by the dye!

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 Physics: Intersystem Crossing
• Occurs when electron transitions from singlet  doublet/triplet state or vice-
versa.
• Competes with laser emission (loss)
• Triplet state population can be minimized using triplet quenchers

Fig.2: Normal laser vs. Dye laser exhibiting intersystem crossing [2]
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 Physics: Population Inversion
• Even with pumping, the lowest ground state has higher number of
carriers than the lowest excited state. (No population inversion?)

• The population inversion is actually between the lowest excited state

and a higher ground vibrational/rotational state.

• Thus, a dye laser needs a ‘bluer’ source as a pump, to produce the

desired color.

• The existence of a band of possible vibrational/rotational levels 

tunability!

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Physics: Typical Carrier Lifetimes

Fig.3: Possible eigenstates in a typical dye and their lifetimes [1]

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 Setup of Typical Dye Laser

Fig.4: Setup of dye laser. The dye cuvet contains a certain concentration
of the dye to absorb the light near its surface. The micrometer tunes the
desired wavelength.
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 Continuous Wave (CW) Dye Laser
• Consider this configuration shown below operating at threshold:

Fig. 5: CW Dye Laser configuration

• The total change in intensity is thus:

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 CWDL: Gain Analysis
• Rate Equation for photons,
without mirror loss term:

• Gain of active Medium and

round trip gain:

• Integrating and considering

mirror loss:
Note: All equations from [1] p. 96-97

• At threshold, set G(λ) = 0. (Lasing condition)

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 Rate Equations
• Rate Equation for photons:

• Rate Equation for first excited

singlet state 𝑛2 :

• Pump rate/unit volume 𝑅𝑝 :

• Triplet state population 𝑛 𝑇 :

• Number of dye molecules (conservation):

Note: All equations from [3]

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Rate Equations Parameters

Fig. 6: Typical values of rate equation parameters [3]

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 Ultra-Short Pulse Dye Lasers
• Pulse duration is at most a few tens of picoseconds, and often
in the range of femtoseconds (10−15 → 10−12 )

Fig. 8: Technological Shortening of pulsewidth with time (Left),

(a) the gain spectrum inside a cavity, (b) locking the phase of the
modes to achieve periodic pulses (Right) [1] 14
 USPDL: Mode Locking
• Mode locking is the underlying principle in generating ultrashort pulses
• In a normal laser cavity, the phase is oscillating in a random manner
• Mode locking fixes the phase relationship between the modes

Fig.9: Comparison between locked and random phase (Left), the sum of several
modes creating the periodic pulse (Right) [4]

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 Optofluidic Dye Lasers
• Radiation-emitting dye element used in lab-on-chip applications for ease of
configuration
• No alignment issues with light sources, as all optical components are
embedded using the same highly accurate lithography process

Fig. 10: 3-D view of optofluidic dye laser [4]

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 Optofluidic Dye Lasers
• The dye emits in a wide range of wavelengths

• The lasing mode is determined by manipulating the resonator

• Tuning in macroscopic configurations was through changing the conditions

for optical feedback (angle of grating/etc..)

• In optofluidic devices, tuning is done by manipulating the optical path

length

• By changing the concentration of liquid dye solutions, the OPL can be

changed through the index change (OPL = n.d)

Refractive index tuning [4]

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 Optofluidic Dye Lasers
Different kinds of resonator configurations can be used:

• Fabry Perot: (k: wavenumber, n: ref.index, L: cavity length)

• Bragg: (L1: fluidic channel width, L2: polymer walls width)

• Ring: (κ(ω): waveguide wave vector, R: radius of ring resonator)

• Whispering Gallery Mode (WGM):

In WGM, R and n are the radius and refractive index of the liquid forming the droplet,

respectively.

Note: All equations from [4]

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 References
1. Fritz P. Schäfer (1990). Dye Lasers. Springer.

2. Li, Z., & Psaltis, D. (2007). Optofluidic dye lasers. Microfluidics and

Nanofluidics, 4(1–2), 145–158

3. https://www.rp-photonics.com/mode_locking.html

4. Fainman, Y. (2010). Optofluidics : fundamentals, devices, and

applications. New York: McGraw-Hill.

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