Light-Controlled Direction of Distributed Feedback Laser Emission by Photo-Mobile Polymer Films

We report on the realization of Distributed Feedback (DFB) lasing by a high-resolution reflection grating integrated in a Photomobile Polymer (PMP) film. The grating is recorded in a recently developed holographic mixture basically containing halolakanes/acrylates and a fluorescent dye molecule (Rhodamine 6G). The PMP-mixture is placed around the grating spot and a subsequent curing/photo-polymerization process is promoted by UV-irradiation. Such a process brings to the simultaneous formation of the PMP-film and the covalent link of the PMP-film to the DFB-grating area (PMP-DFB system). The PMP-DFB allows lasing action when optically pumped with a nano-pulsed green laser source. Moreover, under a low-power light-irradiation the PMP-DFB bends inducing a spatial readdressing of the DFB-laser emission. This device is the first example of a light-controlled direction of a DFB laser emission. It could represent a novel disruptive optical technology in many fields of Science, making feasible the approach to free standing and light-controllable lasers.