Chlorophyll lasers: stimulated light emission by chlorophylls and Mg-free chlorophyll derivatives

Journal Article · Sat Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 1977 · Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.74.1.5· OSTI ID:7118477

Hindman, J C; Kugel, R; Svirmickas, A; Katz, J J

Stimulated emission and lasing have been demonstrated for chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, and bacteriochlorophyll a as well as for the Mg-free chlorophyll derivatives pheophytin a and methyl pheophorbide a. Population inversion was obtained by optically pumping with an N/sub 2/ laser. For the three chlorophylls, lasing was observed for only the (0,0) vibronic region of the S/sub 1/ ..-->.. S/sub 0/ fluorescence band. In contrast, lasing was observed for both the (0,0) and (0,1) vibronic regions of the S/sub 1/ ..-->.. S/sub 0/ fluorescence band of pheophytin a and methyl pheophorbide a. Differences between the lasing behavior of the chlorophylls and the Mg-free derivatives probably reflect differences in aggregation behavior. Laser pulses of duration shorter than the fluorescence lifetimes were generated. This result suggests that stimulated emission must be considered in the interpretation of fluorescence lifetime data for in vitro and in vivo chlorophyll-containing systems.

• Research Organization: Argonne National Lab., IL
• OSTI ID: 7118477
• Journal Information: Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.; (United States), Vol. 74:1
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
CHLOROPHYLL
BIOCHEMISTRY
VISIBLE RADIATION
BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS
DATA
EMISSION
FLUORESCENCE
LASERS
LIFETIME
PULSES
CARBOXYLIC ACIDS
CHEMISTRY
ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION
HETEROCYCLIC ACIDS
HETEROCYCLIC COMPOUNDS
INFORMATION
LUMINESCENCE
ORGANIC ACIDS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC NITROGEN COMPOUNDS
PHYTOCHROMES
PIGMENTS
PORPHYRINS
RADIATIONS
550200* - Biochemistry