TOWARD RED-EMITTING, RADIATION TOLERANT CHROMOPHORES

The current state of the art of red-shifted fluorescent dyes is reviewed from the viewpoint of Superconductor Super Collider (SSC) design constraints (emission wavelength, lifetime, radiation-tolerance, quantum yield, etc.) and theoretical limitations (Einstein coefficients, natural lifetimes, oscillator strengths). Improvements to the performance of current red-emitting fluors which are simultaneously optimized to meet these constraints are needed, and the suggestion of applying computational methods to molecular design of fluorescent chromophores is presented by example. Emphasis is placed on dyes which emit at wavelengths longer than 500 nm, and in particular near 630 nm, the window of maximum transmittance of polystyrene plastic optical fiber.