Efficient optical materials based on fluorinated-polymeric silica aerogels

New hybrid solid-state dye laser materials based on highly porous silica aerogels saturated with laser dye PM567 dissolved in fluorinated copolymers have been synthesized. Remarkable lasing efficiency of up 32% was recorded with a highly stable laser operation with no sign of degradation in the laser output after 100,000 pump pulses in the same position of the sample under transversal pumping (532 nm), at 30 Hz repetition rate.