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Published on: August 30, 2017
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Injection-seeded high-repetition-rate short-pulse micro-laser based on upconversion nanoparticles.
Jiannan Jiao1, Donglei Zhou1, Shufan Li1
1Singapore Centre for 3D Printing, School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Nanyang Technological University (NTU), 50 Nanyang Avenue, 639798, Singapore. ssuchand@ntu.edu.sg yj.kim@kaist.ac.kr.
Nanoscale
|December 28, 2020
Summary
We developed a green pulsed micro-laser using lanthanide-doped upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) and femtosecond-laser writing. This compact laser offers high repetition rates for advanced optical applications.
Area of Science:
- Photonics and Nanotechnology
- Laser Physics
- Materials Science
Background:
- Upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) enable the conversion of lower-energy photons to higher-energy ones.
- Whispering-gallery-mode (WGM) resonators confine light, enhancing optical interactions.
- Developing compact, high-repetition-rate micro-lasers is crucial for integrated photonics.
Purpose of the Study:
- To demonstrate a high repetition-rate upconversion green pulsed micro-laser.
- To utilize UCNPs and WGM resonators for efficient third-harmonic generation and amplification.
- To explore applications in optical information processing and sensing.
Main Methods:
- Fabrication of upconversion hemi-ellipsoidal microstructures using fast thermal quenching and femtosecond-laser direct writing.
- Utilizing the WGM resonator for coherent photon build-up of third-harmonic (TH) ultra-short seed pulses.
- Pumping the UCNP resonator with near-infrared (NIR) femtosecond laser pulses (1545 nm) to generate green light (515 nm).
Main Results:
- Successful generation of a green pulsed micro-laser at 515 nm with a high repetition rate.
- Coherent amplification of TH seed pulses via resonant interaction within the UCNP WGM resonator.
- Output polarization state coherently aligned to the pump laser, with intensity dependent on pump polarization (linear vs. circular).
Conclusions:
- The developed scheme provides a compact micro-platform for high-repetition-rate lasing at higher photon energies.
- This technology opens new avenues for on-chip optical information processing and high-throughput microfluidic sensing.
- The micro-laser can serve as localized micro light sources for optical memories.
