In 1999, Laser Science, Inc. introduced an entire line of newly designed dye lasers. In a dye laser system, the dye solution contained in a dye laser is optically pumped with one of the company's nitrogen lasers and produces pulsed visible laser light. Exchanging dye cuvettes alters the dye laser output wavelength. These dye laser systems enable the researcher to easily and inexpensively produce laser light over the range of 360 nm to 950 nm. Laser Science, Inc. offers the DUO series dye lasers for the research oriented VSL-337ND-S nitrogen laser and the DYE series for the ultra compact VSL-337 nitrogen laser. Based on our history with dye lasers, the new DUO and DYE series lasers offer greater flexibility, improved performance, and increased ease of use. All dye lasers are CE compliant.

Applications

Our dye laser systems combine a dye laser and a pulsed nitrogen laser. Uses include fluorescence microscopy, fluorescence immunoassay, ablation, spectroscopy, materials processing, and marking. With tunable dye lasers, the laser output wavelength can be matched to specific chromophores and fluorophores.

Unique DUO Flexibility

The DUO series dye lasers have dual beam exit ports and incorporate a six-position beam selector wheel which holds standard 1-inch optical components. One wheel position is equipped with a mirror. The nitrogen laser beam passes through an empty position in the selector wheel and into the dye cavity resulting in dye laser output. When the mirror is selected, the unaltered nitrogen beam exits the other port. With a customer supplied beamsplitter, dye and nitrogen laser beams are simultaneously output through the two ports. This is important for experiments where it is critical to obtain a simultaneous sample and background reading. Additional wheel positions may be filled with neutral density filters for selective attenuation of the visible output or other optical components for flexible experimental set-ups.

Performance

The dye laser systems provide 3 nsec pulses in the spectral range of 360 nm to 950 nm. Dye laser peak power depends on which dye is used, but typical peak powers are on the order of 20 kW for the DUO series and 10 kW for the DYE series. Similarly, typical average powers are 1.5 mW for the DUO series and 0.7 mW for the DYE series. The pulse repetition rate may be varied from 1 to 30 Hz for the DUO series and from 1 to 20 Hz for the DYE series. The precision of our nitrogen laser pulses translates to dye laser output with constant pulse shape and good pulse to pulse energy stability.

The DUO series of dye lasers was designed to accommodate the higher pump energy of the VSL-337ND-S nitrogen laser. For these systems, the dye solution is stirred to prolong dye life and to improve output beam stability and energy.

Turnkey Operation

The dye laser couples directly to the nitrogen laser output port. A dye cuvette is supplied with every dye laser and a stirring bar is included with each DUO dye laser.

We provide a variety of dyes to cover the spectral range of 360 nm to 950 nm. The tuning curves for a representative selection of dyes are shown in the plot below. The cuvette holder in the dye laser is precisely engineered so that cuvettes can be reproducibly exchanged with no realignment required. To access different spectral regions, the user simply changes dye cuvettes. The important point is that the researcher is provided with visible laser light without the mess and bother of flowing dye solutions or tedious alignment.

The Different Dye Lasers

For visible light, we offer dye lasers with a 2400 line per mm grating tunable in the Littrow configuration. These dye lasers are tuned with direct wavelength readout from a micrometer. Laser Science, Inc. guarantees resolution accuracy to within 1 nm of the micrometer reading. These dye lasers are ideal for tuning to specific wavelengths, frequency doubling, and LIF (laser induced fluorescence). The DUO-220 for the VSL-337ND-S nitrogen laser and the DYE-120 for the VSL-337 nitrogen laser cover a range of 360 nm to 700 nm with an output bandwidth of 0.3 nm.

In order to access the infrared, a 1200 lines per mm grating version provides tunability over the range of 600 nm to 950 nm. With this grating, we guarantee resolution accuracy to within 2 nm. The DUO-221 and the DYE-121 provide an output bandwidth of 0.6 nm.

Some researchers are mainly interested in a single wavelength. The more economical DUO-210 and DYE-110 feature a mirror-to-mirror configuration for fixed output with a spectral bandwidth of 3 nm to 10 nm. Exchanging the dye cuvette varies the output wavelength.

Options

The dye lasers may be connected to optical fibers for remote excitation or to a beam expander for collimating or focusing the beam. The dye laser output beam can be fed into a microscope for microbeam experiments. We offer a fiber optic adapter, a variety of fiber optics, collimators, laser to microscope adapters, and modular holders for filters, attenuators, energy meters, and other optical components.

To view specifications for the dye lasers, click on DUO Series or DYE Series.

Laser Science, Inc.
8E Forge Parkway
Franklin, MA 02038

Phone: 999-999-9999
Fax: 999-999-9999