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Coherent Random Lasing from Dye Aggregates in Polydimethylsiloxane Thin Films.
Lihua Ye1, Yangyang Feng1, Zhixiang Cheng1
1Advanced Photonics Center, School of Electronic Science and Engineering, Southeast University , Nanjing 210018, P. R. China.
ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces
|July 25, 2017
Summary
Researchers developed a low-threshold coherent random laser using dye-doped PDMS. Adding nanoparticles significantly reduced the pump threshold, enabling potential applications in optoelectronics and imaging.
Area of Science:
- Optics and Photonics
- Materials Science
Background:
- Coherent random lasers (CRLs) offer potential for advanced optical applications.
- Optimizing pump thresholds and understanding feedback mechanisms are crucial for CRL development.
Purpose of the Study:
- Investigate coherent random lasers (CRLs) in dye-doped polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) thin films.
- Explore the impact of nanoparticle doping and film structure on CRL performance.
- Analyze the underlying mechanisms for feedback and wavelength tuning.
Main Methods:
- Fabrication of pure dye and nanoparticle-doped (SiO2 NPs) thin films using PDMS and Pyrromethene 597 (PM597) dye.
- Characterization of pump thresholds for coherent random lasing.
- Analysis of the influence of film structure (e.g., substrate adhesion) on lasing properties.
- Investigation of wavelength shifts by altering pump stripe length and film thickness.
Main Results:
- Achieved a low pump threshold of 1.5 mJ/cm² in pure PM597 dye-doped PDMS films.
- Reduced the pump threshold to 0.75 mJ/cm² with SiO2 nanoparticle doping.
- Observed an increase in threshold upon film removal from the substrate, highlighting the role of leaky-waveguide structures.
- Demonstrated red-shifts in peak wavelength (6.7 nm and 5.93 nm) by adjusting pump stripe length and film thickness, respectively.
- Identified spontaneous formation of PM597 micro-/nanocrystals due to dye solubility changes and PDMS curing as the source of gain and feedback.
Conclusions:
- Spontaneously formed dye micro-/nanocrystals in PDMS act as gain and feedback centers for CRLs.
- Leaky-waveguide structures significantly contribute to lowering the CRL pump threshold.
- The developed thin-film random laser is suitable for integrated optoelectronics and display imaging applications.
