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Droplet Lasers for Smart Photonic Labels
A Capocefalo1, E Quintiero2, C Conti1
1CNR ISC, Istituto dei Sistemi Complessi, c/o Università Sapienza, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Roma, Italy.
ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces
|October 20, 2021
Summary
Researchers developed tunable liquid microlasers using self-forming droplets. These smart photonic labels offer reusable, adaptable anti-counterfeiting and multiplexed bioassay solutions.
Area of Science:
- Photonics and Materials Science
- Microscale light-matter interactions
- Development of advanced photonic devices
Background:
- Microscopic lasers enhance light-matter interactions at the microscale.
- Tunable emission is crucial for advanced photonic applications.
- Self-assembly methods offer novel fabrication routes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To realize liquid microlasers with tunable emission.
- To develop flexible, reusable smart photonic labels.
- To explore novel lasing mechanisms for spectroscopic encoding.
Main Methods:
- Exploiting viscoelastic dewetting for self-formation of 3D liquid droplets in a polymer matrix.
- Designing a flexible device for detachable and reusable photonic labels.
- Implementing whispering gallery mode emission coupled with random lasing.
Main Results:
- Achieved tunable emission from liquid microlasers.
- Demonstrated the fabrication of flexible, reusable photonic labels on various substrates (paper, fabric).
- Showcased a lasing mechanism combining whispering gallery modes and random lasing via dielectric inclusions.
Conclusions:
- Liquid microlasers with tunable emission were successfully realized.
- The developed photonic labels are flexible, reusable, and suitable for diverse applications.
- The tunable emission enables spectroscopic encoding for photonic barcodes, anti-counterfeiting, and multiplexed bioassays.
