Modification of emission wavelength in organic random lasers based on photonic glass

Chen, Y., Herrnsdorf, J., Guilhabert, B., Zhang, Y., Kanibolotsky, A. L., Skabara, P. J. , Gu, E., Laurand, N. and Dawson, M. D. (2012) Modification of emission wavelength in organic random lasers based on photonic glass. Organic Electronics, 13(7), pp. 1129-1135. (doi: 10.1016/j.orgel.2012.03.014)

Abstract

Control of the emission wavelength of a random laser (RL) system over a 7-nm waveband is demonstrated using a green-emitting π-conjugated polymer infiltrated into a photonic glass formed by nano/micro-size monodisperse silica spheres. The use of a solution-based conjugated polymer enables the complete filling of the voids within the photonic glass without suffering from quenching and the gain can therefore be maximized. The emission wavelength of these structures is set by a combination of the material system spectral gain and of the transport mean free path, the latter being controlled by the mean diameter of the spheres in the nano-scale range. Transport mean free paths of photons in the RL’s active region are calculated using Mie scattering theory and corroborated with coherent backscattering measurements. Further wavelength modification is also possible by changing the pump spot size and the pump fluence.

• Item Type: Articles
• Additional Information: This work was supported by UK EPSRC under HYPIX project. Y. Chen thanks the financial support from Scottish Universities Physics Alliance (SUPA).
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Skabara, Professor Peter and Kanibolotskyy, Dr Oleksandr
• Authors: Chen, Y., Herrnsdorf, J., Guilhabert, B., Zhang, Y., Kanibolotsky, A. L., Skabara, P. J., Gu, E., Laurand, N., and Dawson, M. D.
• College/School: College of Science and Engineering > School of Chemistry
• Journal Name: Organic Electronics
• Publisher: Elsevier
• ISSN: 1566-1199
• ISSN (Online): 1878-5530
• Published Online: 03 April 2012