PROCESSING AND PHOTOSTABILITY OF PYRROMETHENE-567 POLYCERAMS

Polyceram materials are attractive hosts for laser dyes because they c an have high optical transparencies, high laser damage thresholds, and the ability to tailor optical properties by varying the composition a nd synthetic routes. Pyrromethene 567 has been successfully incorporat ed within silica: polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) Polycerams to obtain pol ishable, crack-free, transparent monoliths using the sol-gel process. Fluorescence photostability was measured by pumping with a Q-switched, frequency doubled Nd:YAG laser (532 nm) at a pulse rate of 10 Hz. Flu orescence intensity dropped to 50% after approximately 50,000 pulses a t a fluence of 0.10 J/cm(2). UV degradation studies were performed on Polycerams with different polymer contents, and the absorption photost ability is related to the solubility and type of caging of the dye.