Cyclic ether auxofluors on oligophenylene laser dyes

Laser dyes with terphenyl and quaterphenyl as the fluorophors and with acyclic ether auxofluors were improved when the ether groups were made cyclic. Dyes containing cyclic ethers in 5‐ and 6‐membered rings were observed to lase in the 360–400 nm region with better lifetime and/or solubility than their acyclic analogs. In one case the laser output wavelength of a quaterphenyl fitted with cyclic ether auxofluors was red‐shifted enough to match the wavelength of a sexiphenyl without auxofluors.