In situ synthesis of dye-doped stainless-steel-net-supported mesostructured silica film for solid-state laser material

Abstract

Optically active stainless-steel-net-supported mesostructured SBA-15 films have been fabricated by a simple sol–gel synthesis. Laser dye rhodamine 6G is doped in situ in the films to produce solid state dye lasers. Characterization by optical microscopy and field-emission scanning electron microscopy reveals that the surface of the film is smooth and macroscopic homogeneous without any crack and the stainless steel net acts as a good framework of the film. Mesoscopic ordering of the film is demonstrated by a combination of small-angle X-ray diffraction analysis and transmission electron microscopy investigation. The spectroscopic properties of the solid-state laser materials are measured by the second harmonic of a Q-switched Nd:YAG laser at 532 nm. A distributed feedback laser (DFB laser) is revealed through the gain narrowing of the band over threshold energy of 30 μJ and the occurring of superlinear dependence. The grids of the stainless steel nets are regarded as laser resonant structures for feedback of light, and the aperture of the grids plays an important role on the films’ optical performance. Such dye-activated mesostructured materials have potential application for the fabrication of solid state dye lasers and microphotonic devices.