A Revisit of the Underlying Fundamentals in the Laser Emission from BODIPYs

Abstract

This chapter aims to provide a comprehensive assessment of the laser performance of commercially available laser dyes based on the boron-dipyrromethene (BODIPY) chromophore in a liquid state, as well as to remark the main underlying photophysical signatures triggering such photonic behavior. First, we describe their light absorption and fluorescence properties in solution. This spectroscopic study is supplemented with quantum mechanics calculations and electrochemical measurements. Afterward, the dyes are tested as active media of tunable lasers under transversal pumping. The recorded laser efficiencies and photostabilities are correlated with the registered photophysical properties identifying the main structural guidelines and photonic parameters, which rule the laser bands’ position, intensity, and stability. As a result, we provide a comparative dataset of the laser performance, not available hitherto. Besides, the unraveling of the complex molecular structure-photophysics-laser relationship should help in the rational design of new tunable dye lasers with an improved photonic response along the entire visible region and reaching eventually the near infrared.