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Fabrication of Polymer Microspheres for Optical Resonator and Laser Applications
Published on: June 2, 2017
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Aggregation-Induced Stimulated Emission of 100% Dye Microspheres
Kwon-Hyeon Kim1, Hao Yan1, Seok-Hyun Yun1
1Wellman Center for Photomedicine and Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital, 65 Landsdowne St., Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
Advanced Optical Materials
|December 18, 2023
Summary
Aggregation-induced emission (AIE) dyes show potential as laser materials. Researchers investigated stimulated emission in AIE dyes, achieving high gain and lasing in microspheres for potential bioimaging applications.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Optics
- Chemistry
Background:
- Aggregation-induced emission (AIE) dyes exhibit strong luminescence in aggregated states, with potential applications in solid-state devices.
- While fluorescence of AIE dyes is well-studied, their aggregation-induced stimulated emission properties remain largely unexplored.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the aggregation-induced stimulated emission of tetraphenylethene (TPE)-based organoboron AIE dyes (TPEQBN).
- To explore the potential of these AIE dyes as gain media in microcavity lasers and their application in cellular imaging.
Main Methods:
- Femtosecond pump-probe spectroscopy was used to measure gain coefficients.
- Rate equations were employed to analyze gain dynamics and laser build-up.
- Solid-state microspheres were fabricated using microfluidic emulsion and solvent evaporation.
Main Results:
- High gain coefficients up to 230 cm-1 at 500 nm were measured in TPEQBN thin films.
- Microspheres as small as 2 μm exhibited lasing with a low threshold (~10 pJ μm-2) due to high gain and refractive index (1.76).
- Polymer-coated microspheres were internalized by live cells, producing narrowband cavity mode emission from the cytoplasm.
Conclusions:
- TPE-based organoboron AIE dyes demonstrate significant potential as efficient laser materials.
- AIE dye-based microspheres can function as solid-state lasers and are suitable for intracellular applications.
- This research opens avenues for developing novel AIE-based optical devices and bioimaging tools.
