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Temperature-controlled random laser action in liquid crystal infiltrated systems.
Diederik S Wiersma1, Stefano Cavalieri
1European Laboratory for Non-Linear Spectroscopy and Istituto Nazionale per la Fisica della Materia, Via Nello Carrara 1, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino (Florence), Italy. wiersma@lens.unifi.it
Summary
Researchers developed a temperature-controlled random laser using liquid crystal and laser dye in glass. This tunable random laser material offers adjustable emission bandwidth and threshold via environmental temperature changes.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Optics
- Condensed Matter Physics
Background:
- Disordered dielectric materials exhibit unique light scattering properties.
- Random lasers offer potential for novel light sources with tunable characteristics.
- Controlling scattering strength in disordered systems is crucial for device applications.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate a novel amplifying disordered dielectric material.
- To demonstrate temperature-controlled scattering strength in random laser systems.
- To explore the tunability of emission bandwidth and threshold in these materials.
Main Methods:
- Fabrication of a composite material by infiltrating liquid crystal and laser dye into sintered glass powders.
- Experimental characterization of the material's optical and spectral properties.
- Temperature-dependent measurements of emission characteristics and diffusion constants.
Main Results:
- Successfully realized an amplifying disordered dielectric material with externally controllable scattering strength via temperature.
- Demonstrated that the random laser material can be switched below or above threshold by small temperature variations.
- Showed that the emission bandwidth of the random laser is tunable with temperature.
Conclusions:
- The developed material represents a promising platform for tunable random lasers.
- Temperature control offers a viable method for modulating the performance of disordered laser systems.
- Further research into spectral properties and diffusion constants can optimize device design.