Lasers are one of the fundamental components of modern optical and optoelectronic technology. The search for efficient lasing media at a variety of wavelengths is ongoing. This proposal details the application of combinatorial methodology to the preparation and evaluation of solid-state laser materials. This approach involves the parallel synthesis of multi-element libraries of materials and subsequent rapid assessment of their physical properties. The combinatorial approach offers the capacity to rapidly assess enormous numbers of potentially interesting materials and represents a revolutionary development in the process of basic materials discovery. Initial Phase I studies will focus on the well established lasing materials Cr3+:AI2O3, Ti3+:Al203 and Nd3+:YAG with future extension to a wide variety of solid-state materials as potential novel laser media. Phase I goals include: i) feasibility studies of parallel synthesis of laser materials in thin-film library format, ii) development of serial spectroscopic analyses of laser materials libraries, iii) evaluation of direct laser gain measurements in thin-film micro-laser libraries. Anticipated benefits from Phase I work include the establishment of combinatorial methodology as a tool in the search for novel solid-state laser materials. Application of this methodology should allow rapid and efficient discovery and optimization of lasing media which have wide commercial applicability in a variety of emerging technologies.
Keywords: Combinatorial, High-Throughput, Lasers, Solid-State, Optical Materials, Laser Materials
