Transform-limited, narrow-linewidth lasing action in organic semiconductor microcavities

Mechanofluorochromic Properties of 1,4-Diphenylanthracene Derivatives with Hypsochromic Shift

Several types of 1,4-diphenylanthracene derivatives 1-4 were prepared, and their photophysical properties were observed in the solid and solution states. Interestingly, the CN-group-substituted 1,4-diphenylanthracene derivative 2 was found to exhibit a higher fluorescence quantum yield (ϕf = 0.71) in the solid state than in the solution state, probably due to the formation of an intermolecular Ar-CN⋯H-Ar hydrogen bond and antiparallel type locked packing structure in the solid state. Furthermore, for some derivatives, an increase in the fluorescence quantum yield was observed in the PMMA film (1 wt%) over both the solid state and the solution state. More interestingly, some of the 1,4-diphenylanthracene derivatives exhibited unusual mechanofluorochromic properties with a "hypsochromic shift" in luminous color depending on the substituents of the phenyl group, and with the derivatives having CF3, OMe, CN, and two F substituents (1d-1f, 2-4) showing a significant luminous color change with a "hypsochromic shift" after grinding. However, no change in the luminous color was observed for the derivatives having H, Me, and one F substituent (1a-1c), and especially for some of the CN-substituted derivatives, a reversible luminous color change with a "hypsochromic shift" was observed, probably due to the formation of an antiparallel type packing structure. These "hypsochromic" anthracene derivatives could probably be utilized as new mechanofluorochromic materials.

Toward Nonepitaxial Laser Diodes

Thin-film organic, colloidal quantum dot, and metal halide perovskite semiconductors are all being pursued in the quest for a wavelength-tunable diode laser technology that does not require epitaxial growth on a traditional semiconductor substrate. Despite promising demonstrations of efficient light-emitting diodes and low-threshold optically pumped lasing in each case, there are still fundamental and practical barriers that must be overcome to reliably achieve injection lasing. This review outlines the historical development and recent advances of each material system on the path to a diode laser. Common challenges in resonator design, electrical injection, and heat dissipation are highlighted, as well as the different optical gain physics that make each system unique. The evidence to date suggests that continued progress for organic and colloidal quantum dot laser diodes will likely hinge on the development of new materials or indirect pumping schemes, while improvements in device architecture and film processing are most critical for perovskite lasers. In all cases, systematic progress will require methods that can quantify how close new devices get with respect to their electrical lasing thresholds. We conclude by discussing the current status of nonepitaxial laser diodes in the historical context of their epitaxial counterparts, which suggests that there is reason to be optimistic for the future.

Progresses and Perspectives of Near-Infrared Emission Materials with "Heavy Metal-Free" Organic Compounds for Electroluminescence

Organic/polymer light-emitting diodes (OLEDs/PLEDs) have attracted a rising number of investigations due to their promising applications for high-resolution fullcolor displays and energy-saving solid-state lightings. Near-infrared (NIR) emitting dyes have gained increasing attention for their potential applications in electroluminescence and optical imaging in optical tele-communication platforms, sensing and medical diagnosis in recent decades. And a growing number of people focus on the "heavy metal-free" NIR electroluminescent materials to gain more design freedom with cost advantage. This review presents recent progresses in conjugated polymers and organic molecules for OLEDs/PLEDs according to their different luminous mechanism and constructing systems. The relationships between the organic fluorophores structures and electroluminescence properties are the main focus of this review. Finally, the approaches to enhance the performance of NIR OLEDs/PLEDs are described briefly. We hope that this review could provide a new perspective for NIR materials and inspire breakthroughs in fundamental research and applications.

Thermally Activated Delayed Fluorescent Gain Materials: Harvesting Triplet Excitons for Lasing

Thermally activated delayed fluorescent (TADF) materials have attracted increasing attention because of their ability to harvest triplet excitons via a reverse intersystem crossing process. TADF gain materials that can recycle triplet excitons for stimulated emission are considered for solving the triplet accumulation problem in electrically pumped organic solid-state lasers (OSSLs). In this mini review, recent progress in TADF gain materials is summarized, and design principles are extracted from existing reports. The construction methods of resonators based on TADF gain materials are also introduced, and the challenges and perspectives for the future development of TADF gain materials are presented. It is hoped that this review will aid the advances in TADF gain materials and thus promote the development of electrically pumped OSSLs.

Nanocrystal-Sensitized Infrared-to-Visible Upconversion in a Microcavity under Subsolar Flux

Infrared-to-visible photon upconversion could benefit applications such as photovoltaics, infrared sensing, and bioimaging. Solid-state upconversion based on triplet exciton annihilation sensitized by nanocrystals is one of the most promising approaches, albeit limited by relatively weak optical absorption. Here, we integrate the upconverting layers into a Fabry-Pérot microcavity with quality factor Q = 75. At the resonant wavelength λ = 980 nm, absorption increases 74-fold and we observe a 227-fold increase in the intensity of upconverted emission. The threshold excitation intensity is reduced by 2 orders of magnitude to a subsolar flux of 13 mW/cm². We measure an external quantum efficiency of 0.06 ± 0.01% and a 2.2-fold increase in the generation yield of upconverted photons. Our work highlights the potential of triplet-triplet annihilation-based upconversion in low-intensity sensing applications and demonstrates the importance of photonic designs in addition to materials engineering to improve the efficiency of solid-state upconversion.

Room-Temperature Lasing in Colloidal Nanoplatelets via Mie-Resonant Bound States in the Continuum

Solid-state room-temperature lasing with tunability in a wide range of wavelengths is desirable for many applications. To achieve this, besides an efficient gain material with a tunable emission wavelength, a high quality-factor optical cavity is essential. Here, we combine a film of colloidal CdSe/CdZnS core-shell nanoplatelets with square arrays of nanocylinders made of titanium dioxide to achieve optically pumped lasing at visible wavelengths and room temperature. The all-dielectric arrays support bound states in the continuum (BICs), which result from lattice-mediated Mie resonances and boast infinite quality factors in theory. In particular, we demonstrate lasing from a BIC that originates from out-of-plane magnetic dipoles oscillating in phase. By adjusting the diameter of the cylinders, we tune the lasing wavelength across the gain bandwidth of the nanoplatelets. The spectral tunability of both the cavity resonance and nanoplatelet gain, together with efficient light confinement in BICs, promises low-threshold lasing with wide selectivity in wavelengths.

Organic solid-state lasers: a materials view and future development

Lasing applications have spread over various aspects of human life. To meet the developing trends of the laser industry towards being miniature, portable, and highly integrated, new laser technologies are in urgent demand. Organic semiconductors are promising gain medium candidates for novel laser devices, due to their convenient processing techniques, ease of spectral and chemical tuning, low refractive indexes, mechanical flexibilities, and low thresholds, etc. organic solid-state lasers (OSSLs) open up a new horizon of simple, low-cost, time-saving, versatile and environmental-friendly manufacturing technologies for new and desirable laser structures (micro-, asymmetric, flexible, etc.) to unleash the full potential of semiconductor lasers for future electronics. Besides the development of optical feedback structures, the design and synthesis of robust organic gain media is critical as a vigorous aspect of OSSLs. Herein, we provide a comprehensive review of recent advances in organic gain materials, mainly focused on organic semiconductors for OSSLs. The significant breakthroughs toward electrical pumping of OSSLs are emphasized. Opportunities, challenges and future research directions for the design of organic gain media are also discussed.

Charge Accumulation of Amplified Spontaneous Emission in a Conjugated Polymer Chain and Its Dynamical Phonon Spectra

In this article, the detailed photoexcitation dynamics which combines nonadiabatic molecular dynamics with electronic transitions shows the occurrence of amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) in conjugated polymers, accompanied by spontaneous electric polarization. The elaborate molecular dynamic process of ultrafast photoexcitation can be described as follows: Continuous external optical pumping (laser of 70 µJ/cm²) not only triggers the appearance of an instantaneous four-level electronic structure but causes population inversion for ASE as well. At the same time, the phonon spectrum of the conjugated polymer changes, and five local infrared lattice vibrational modes form at the two ends, which break the original symmetry in the system and leads to charge accumulation at the ends of the polymer chain without an external electric field. This novel phenomenon gives a brand-new avenue to explain how the lattice vibrations play a role in the evolution of the stimulated emission, which leads to an ultrafast effect in solid conjugated polymers.

Investigating underlying mechanism in spectral narrowing phenomenon induced by microcavity in organic light emitting diodes

This paper reports our experimental studies on the underlying mechanism responsible for electroluminescence spectral narrowing phenomenon in the cavity-based organic light-emitting diodes. It is found that the microcavity generates an emerging phenomenon: a magneto-photoluminescence signal in Poly(9,9-dioctylfluorene-alt-benzothiadiazole) polymer under photoexcitation, which is completely absent when microcavity is not used. This provides an evidence that microcavity leads to the formation of spatially extended states, functioning as the intermediate states prior to the formation of Frenkel excitons in organic materials. This is confirmed by the magneto-electroluminescence solely observed from the cavity-based light-emitting diodes under electrical injection. Furthermore, the narrowed electroluminescence output shows a linear polarization, concurrently occurred with magneto-electroluminescence. This indicates that the spatially extended sates become aligned towards forming coherent light-emitting excitons within the microcavity through optical resonance. Clearly, the spatially extended states present the necessary condition to realize electroluminescence spectral narrowing phenomenon towards lasing actions in cavity-based organic light-emitting diodes.

High-Temperature Continuous-Wave Pumped Lasing from Large-Area Monolayer Semiconductors Grown by Chemical Vapor Deposition

The realization of low-energy-consumption lasers based on atomically thin two-dimensional (2D) transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) is crucial for the development of optical communications, flexible displays, and lasers on the chip level. However, among the as-demonstrated TMDC-based lasers so far, the gain materials are mainly achieved by a mechanical exfoliation approach accompanied by poor reproducibility and controllability. In this work, we report a controllable design for generating large-scale lasing from chemical vapor deposition (CVD)-derived high-quality monolayer MoS₂ film. Strong continuous-wave optically driven whispering-gallery-mode lasing is achieved in a wide temperature range from 77 to 400 K. The eminent lasing performances result from the strong spatial confinement of carriers and the enhanced efficiency of spontaneous emission owing to the lensing and screening effects of silica microsphere cavities. These findings not only advance the fundamental understanding of 2D lasing effects but also provide solutions to fabricate low-cost, scalable, and integratable TMDC-based lasers.

Strain-based tunable optical microresonator with an in-fiber rectangular air bubble

We demonstrate a strain-based fully tunable, near-lossless, whispering gallery mode (WGM) resonator made of an in-fiber rectangular air bubble, which is fabricated by splicing two segments of standard single-mode fibers. Such a resonator, with a 39 μm order radius and 1 μm order wall thickness, contributes to a high quality factor exceeding 10⁶. The tuning in resonant wavelength is achieved by applying tensile strain to the resonator, and the voltage-tuning rate of the WGM resonance peaks is about 31.96 pm/V (strain-tuning rate ∼14.12  pm/μϵ), and the corresponding tuning accuracy is better than 0.03 pm. Since the tensile strain applied on the resonator can reach 1000  μϵ, the achievable total tunable bandwidth of ∼14.12  nm is more than two times that of its azimuthal free spectral range.

Microcavity Laser Based on a Single Molecule Thick High Gain Layer

The ability to confine excitons within monolayers has led to fundamental investigations of nonradiative energy transfer, super-radiance, strong light-matter coupling, high-efficiency light-emitting diodes, and recently lasers in lateral resonator architectures. Vertical cavity surface emitting lasers (VCSELs), in which lasing occurs perpendicular to the device plane, are critical for telecommunications and large-scale photonics integration, however strong optical self-absorption and low fluorescence quantum yields have thus far prevented coherent emission from a monolayer microcavity device. Here we show lasing from a monolayer VCSEL using a single molecule thick film of amphiphilic fluorescent dye, assembled via Langmuir-Blodgett deposition, as the gain layer. Threshold was observed when 5% of the molecules were excited (4.4 μJ/cm²). At this level of excitation, the optical gain in the monolayer exceeds 1056 cm^-1. High localization of the excitons in the VCSEL gain layer can enhance their collective emission properties with Langmuir-Blodgett deposition presenting a paradigm for engineering the high gain layers on the molecular level.

Organic Solid-State Tri-Wavelength Lasing from Holographic Polymer-Dispersed Liquid Crystal and a Distributed Feedback Laser with a Doped Laser Dye and a Semiconducting Polymer Film

Organic solid-state tri-wavelength lasing was demonstrated from dye-doped holographic polymer-dispersed liquid crystal (HPDLC) distributed feedback (DFB) laser with semiconducting polymer poly[-methoxy-5-(2′-ethyl-hexyloxy)-1,4-phenylene-vinylene] (MEH-PPV) and laser dye [4-(dicyanomethylene)-2-methyl-6-(p-dimethylaminostyryl)-4H-pyran] (DCM) by a one-step holography technique, which centered at 605.5 nm, 611.9 nm, and 671.1 nm. The temperature-dependence tuning range for the tri-wavelength dye-doped HPDLC DFB laser was as high as 8 nm. The lasing emission from the 9th order HPDLC DFB laser with MEH-PPV as active medium was also investigated, which showed excellent s-polarization characterization. The diffraction order is 9th and 8th for the dual-wavelength lasing with DCM as the active medium. The results of this work provide a method for constructing the compact and cost-effective all solid-state smart laser systems, which may find application in scientific and applied research where multi-wavelength radiation is required.

Room-temperature near-infrared up-conversion lasing in single-crystal Er-Y chloride silicate nanowires

Near-infrared up-conversion lasing in erbium(Er)-yttrium(Y) chloride silicate nanowires was demonstrated when pumped by 1476 nm laser at room temperature. The emission covers a very wide wavelength range (400–1000 nm). A clear threshold for 985 nm peak was observed at a launched average pump power of approximately 7 mW. Above threshold, the intensity increases linearly when turning up the pump power. The full width at half maximum at 985 nm decreases from 1.25 nm to 0.25 nm when reducing the measurement temperature from 30 K to 7 K, which is the narrowest linewidth of 980 nm micro-lasers to date. Our demonstration presents a possible novel method of utilizing up-conversion mechanism in Er-Y nanowire to achieve tunable near-infrared laser, which breaks new ground in the exploration of nanoscale optoelectronic devices operating at near-infrared wavelength.

An ultra-narrow linewidth solution-processed organic laser

Optically pumped lasers based on solution-processed thin-film gain media have recently emerged as low-cost, broadly tunable, and versatile active photonics components that can fit any substrate and are useful for, e.g., chemo- or biosensing or visible spectroscopy. Although single-mode operation has been demonstrated in various resonator architectures with a large variety of gain media-including dye-doped polymers, organic semiconductors, and, more recently, hybrid perovskites-the reported linewidths are typically on the order of a fraction of a nanometer or broader, i.e., the coherence lengths are no longer than a few millimeters, which does not enable high-resolution spectroscopy or coherent sensing. The linewidth is fundamentally constrained by the short photon cavity lifetime in the standard resonator geometries. We demonstrate here a novel structure for an organic thin-film solid-state laser that is based on a vertical external cavity, wherein a holographic volume Bragg grating ensures both spectral selection and output coupling in an otherwise very compact (∼cm³) design. Under short-pulse (0.4 ns) pumping, Fourier-transform-limited laser pulses are obtained, with a full width at half-maximum linewidth of 900 MHz (1.25 pm). Using 20-ns-long pump pulses, the linewidth can be further reduced to 200 MHz (0.26 pm), which is four times above the Fourier limit and corresponds to an unprecedented coherence length of 1 m. The concept is potentially transferrable to any type of thin-film laser and can be ultimately made tunable; it also represents a very compact alternative to bulky grating systems in dye lasers.

Self-assembly of T-shape 2H-benzo[d][1,2,3]-triazoles. Optical waveguide and photophysical properties

T-Shaped 2H-benzo[d][1,2,3]triazole derivatives have been synthesized by Sonogashira coupling reactions under microwave irradiation.

Intrinsic homogeneous linewidth and broadening mechanisms of excitons in monolayer transition metal dichalcogenides

The band-edge optical response of transition metal dichalcogenides, an emerging class of atomically thin semiconductors, is dominated by tightly bound excitons localized at the corners of the Brillouin zone (valley excitons). A fundamental yet unknown property of valley excitons in these materials is the intrinsic homogeneous linewidth, which reflects irreversible quantum dissipation arising from system (exciton) and bath (vacuum and other quasiparticles) interactions and determines the timescale during which excitons can be coherently manipulated. Here we use optical two-dimensional Fourier transform spectroscopy to measure the exciton homogeneous linewidth in monolayer tungsten diselenide (WSe₂). The homogeneous linewidth is found to be nearly two orders of magnitude narrower than the inhomogeneous width at low temperatures. We evaluate quantitatively the role of exciton–exciton and exciton–phonon interactions and population relaxation as linewidth broadening mechanisms. The key insights reported here—strong many-body effects and intrinsically rapid radiative recombination—are expected to be ubiquitous in atomically thin semiconductors.

The band-edge optical response of transition metal dichalcogenides is dominated by tightly bound valley excitons. Here, the authors use optical two-dimensional Fourier transform spectroscopy to determine the exciton homogeneous linewidth in monolayer tungsten diselenide.

Reduced threshold of optically pumped amplified spontaneous emission and narrow line-width electroluminescence at cutoff wavelength from bilayer organic waveguide devices

We present a detailed study of the optically and electrically pumped emission in the BSB-Cz/PVK bilayer waveguide devices. By optical pumping we demonstrate that PVK as a spacer between fluorescent BSB-Cz and ITO electrode allows the significant reduction of the threshold for amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) of BSB-Cz. The simulation provides a better understanding of how the PVK thickness affects the waveguide mode field distribution and hence the ASE threshold of BSB-Cz. On the other hand, the BSB-Cz/PVK bilayer OLED exhibits the external quantum efficiency of >1% and anisotropic electroluminescence with spectrally narrowed edge emission at the cutoff wavelength controlled by the BSB-Cz thickness. When tuning the cutoff wavelength to match the peak gain of BSB-Cz, we demonstrate an intense, particularly narrow edge emission (~5 nm) without obvious degradation of efficiency at a high current density of 1000 mA/cm², suggesting a reliable device performance for high-power applications and further exploration of electrically-pumped ASE.

Room temperature fabrication of dielectric Bragg reflectors composed of a CaF2/ZnS multilayered coating

We describe the design, fabrication, and characterization of mechanically stable, reproducible, and highly reflecting distributed Bragg reflectors (DBR) composed of thermally evaporated thin films of calcium fluoride (CaF2) and zinc sulfide (ZnS). CaF2 and ZnS were chosen as the low and high refractive index components of the multilayer DBR structures, with n = 1.43 and n = 2.38 respectively, because neither material requires substrate heating during the deposition process in order to produce optical quality thin films. DBRs consisting of seven pairs of CaF2 and ZnS layers, were fabricated with thicknesses of 96 and 58 nm, respectively, as characterized by high-resolution scanning electron microscopy (HR-SEM), and exhibited a center wavelength of λc = 550 nm and peak reflectance exceeding 99%. The layers showed good adhesion to each other and to the glass substrate, resulting in mechanically stable DBR coatings. Complete optical microcavities consisting of two such DBR coatings and a CaF2 spacer layer between them could be fabricated in a single deposition run. Optically, these structures exhibited a resonator quality factor of Q > 160. When a CaF2/ZnS DBR was grown, without heating the substrate during deposition, on top of a thin film containing the fluorescent dye Rhodamine 6G, the fluorescence intensity showed no degradation compared to an uncoated film, in contrast to a MgF2/ZnS DBR coating grown with substrate heating which showed a 92% reduction in signal. The ability to fabricate optical quality CaF2/ZnS DBRs without substrate heating, as introduced here, can therefore enable formation of low-loss high-reflectivity coatings on top of more delicate heat-sensitive materials such as organics and other nanostructured emitters, and hence facilitate the development of nanoemitter-based microcavity device applications.

R, Sun SS. Structural diversity of new solid-state luminophores based on quinoxaline-β-ketoiminate boron difluoride complexes with remarkable fluorescence switching properties

Highly tunable organoboron luminophores with intense solid-state fluorescence showed outstanding photoswitching properties modulated by acid/base vapors.

Optofluidic lasers with a single molecular layer of gain

We achieve optofluidic lasers with a single molecular layer of gain, in which green fluorescent protein, dye-labeled bovine serum albumin, and dye-labeled DNA, are used as the gain medium and attached to the surface of a ring resonator via surface immobilization biochemical methods. It is estimated that the surface density of the gain molecules is on the order of 10(12) cm(-2), sufficient for lasing under pulsed optical excitation. It is further shown that the optofluidic laser can be tuned by energy transfer mechanisms through biomolecular interactions. This work not only opens a door to novel photonic devices that can be controlled at the level of a single molecular layer but also provides a promising sensing platform to analyze biochemical processes at the solid-liquid interface.

Strong coupling and laser action of ladder-type oligo(p-phenylene)s in a microcavity

We investigate the coupling of ladder-type quarterphenyl to the photon modes of a dielectric ZrOx /SiOx microcavity at ultraviolet wavelengths. For a relatively long cavity (≈10 μm) with high-reflectivity mirrors (0.998), optically pumped laser action is demonstrated in the weak-coupling regime. We observe single-mode operation with a threshold of 0.4 mJ cm(-2) . Strong coupling is achieved by using a short λ/2 cavity. We find pronounced anti-crossing features of the molecular (0,0) and (0,1) vibronic transitions and the cavity mode in angle-dependent reflectivity measurements providing Rabi splittings of (90±10) meV. All these features occur spectrally resonant to the exciton transition of ZnO demonstrating the potential of ladder-type oligo(p-phenylene)s for the construction of inorganic/organic hybrid microcavities.

Ultracompact low-threshold organic laser

We report an ultracompact low-threshold laser with an Alq3:DCM host:guest molecular organic thin film gain layer. The device uses a photonic crystal nanobeam cavity which provides a high quality factor to mode volume (Q/V) ratio and increased spontaneous emission factor along with a small footprint. Lasing is observed with a threshold of 4.2 μJ/cm(2) when pumped by femtosecond pulses of λ = 400 nm wavelength light. We also model the dynamics of the laser and show good agreement with the experimental data. The inherent waveguide geometry of the structure enables easy on-chip integration with potential applications in biochemical sensing, inertial sensors, and data communication.

Strong photocurrent enhancements in highly efficient flexible organic solar cells by adopting a microcavity configuration

Organic solar cells often show inefficient light harvesting due to a short absorption path length limited by the low charge mobility of organic semiconductors. We demonstrate a flexible organic solar cell in a microcavity configuration using a TeO2/Ag semitransparent electrode to confine the optical field within the device with significant performance improvements and reaching a power conversion efficiency of 8.56%.

Naturally Self-Assembled Nanosystems and Their Templated Structures for Photonic Applications

Self-assembly has the advantage of fabricating structures of complex functionalities, from molecular levels to as big as macroscopic levels. Natural self-assembly involves self-aggregation of one or more materials (organic and/or inorganic) into desired structures while templated self-assembly involves interstitial space filling of diverse nature entities into self-assembled ordered/disordered templates (both from molecular to macro levels). These artificial and engineered new-generation materials offer many advantages over their individual counterparts. This paper reviews and explores the advantages of such naturally self-assembled hybrid molecular level systems and template-assisted macro-/microstructures targeting simple and low-cost device-oriented fabrication techniques, structural flexibility, and a wide range of photonic applications.

Confined surface plasmon-polariton amplifiers

We demonstrate the realization of confined surface plasmon polariton amplifiers using a thin layer of the organic gain medium 4-dicyanomethylene-2-methyl-6-(p-dimethylaminostyryl)-4H-pyran dispersed in a tris(8-hydroxy-quinolinato)aluminum matrix. Complete loss compensation, which occurs at a pump fluence of approximately 200 μJ/cm(2), is directly observed in the time domain and studied for a range of waveguide lengths. The power dependence is also reported, and a significant net gain of 93 dB/mm is observed at the highest fluence.

Twenty-fold enhancement of molecular fluorescence by coupling to a J-aggregate critically coupled resonator

We report a 20-fold enhancement in the fluorescence of the organic dye DCM when resonantly coupled to a strongly optically absorbing structure of a thin film of spin-deposited molecular J-aggregates in a critically coupled resonator (JCCR) geometry. A submonolayer equivalent of DCM molecules is shown to absorb and re-emit 2.2% of the incident resonant photons when coupled to the JCCR enhancement structure, compared to 0.1% for the bare film of same thickness on quartz. Such a JCCR structure is a general energy focusing platform that localizes over 90% of incident light energy within a 15 nm thin film layer in the form of excitons that can subsequently be transferred to colocated lumophores. Applications of the exciton-mediated concentration of optical energy are discussed in the context of solid-state lighting, photodetection, and single photon optics.

All-polymer organic semiconductor laser chips: parallel fabrication and encapsulation

Organic semiconductor lasers are of particular interest as tunable visible laser light sources. For bringing those to market encapsulation is needed to ensure practicable lifetimes. Additionally, fabrication technologies suitable for mass production must be used. We introduce all-polymer chips comprising encapsulated distributed feedback organic semiconductor lasers. Several chips are fabricated in parallel by thermal nanoimprint of the feedback grating on 4″ wafer scale out of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) and cyclic olefin copolymer (COC). The lasers consisting of the organic semiconductor tris(8-hydroxyquinoline) aluminum (Alq3) doped with the laser dye 4-dicyanomethylene-2-methyl-6-(p-dimethylaminostyril)-4H-pyrane (DCM) are hermetically sealed by thermally bonding a polymer lid. The organic thin film is placed in a basin within the substrate and is not in direct contact to the lid. Thus, the spectral properties of the lasers are unmodified in comparison to unencapsulated lasers. Grating periods of 378 nm to 428 nm in steps of 10 nm result in lasing at wavelengths of 622 nm to 685 nm. The operational lifetime of the lasers expressed in number of pulses is improved 11-fold (PMMA) and 3-fold (COC) in comparison to unencapsulated PMMA devices.

An optical nanocavity incorporating a fluorescent organic dye having a high quality factor

We have fabricated an L3 optical nanocavity operating at visible wavelengths that is coated with a thin-film of a fluorescent molecular-dye. The cavity was directly fabricated into a pre-etched, free-standing silicon-nitride (SiN) membrane and had a quality factor of Q = 2650. This relatively high Q-factor approaches the theoretical limit that can be expected from an L3 nanocavity using silicon nitride as a dielectric material and is achieved as a result of the solvent-free cavity-fabrication protocol that we have developed. We show that the fluorescence from a red-emitting fluorescent dye coated onto the cavity surface undergoes strong emission intensity enhancement at a series of discrete wavelengths corresponding to the cavity modes. Three dimensional finite difference time domain (FDTD) calculations are used to predict the mode structure of the cavities with excellent agreement demonstrated between theory and experiment.

Large-area organic distributed feedback laser fabricated by nanoreplica molding and horizontal dipping

The fabrication of visible wavelength vertically emitting distributed feedback (DFB) lasers with a subwavelength grating fabricated by a replica molding process and an active polymer layer printed by a horizontal dipping process is reported. The combined techniques enable the organic DFB laser to be uniformly fabricated over large surface areas upon a flexible plastic substrate, with an approach that is compatible with roll-based manufacturing. Using a fixed grating period and depth, DFB laser output wavelength is controlled over a 35 nm range through manipulation of the waveguide layer thickness, which is controlled by the speed of the horizontal dipping process. We also demonstrate that the active area of the structure may be photolithographically patterned to create dense arrays of discrete DFB lasers.

Stimulated emission from distyrylbenzene derivative crystals grown by vapor deposition

Narrowed spectra at 452 nm from a thin platelike crystal of distyrylbenzene derivative, 2,5-diphenyl-1,4-distyrylbenzene with two trans double bonds (trans-DPDSB) grown by vapor deposition, are observed. The trans-DPDSB crystal is irradiated by the third harmonic (355 nm) of a Nd:YAG laser. The FWHM of the narrowed spectra can reach 6 nm for the crystal when the pumping energy is 400 microJ/pulse. The threshold value for an optically pumped laser is approximately 350 microJ/pulse.

Dynamics of Energy Transfer of a Dioxolane-Substituted Pentacene Dispersed in 4,4-Bis[N-1-naphthyl-N-phenylamino]biphenyl

We examine the steady-state and time-resolved photoluminescence of guest-host films featuring a dioxolane-substituted pentacene derivative (2,2,10,10-tetraethyl-6,14-bis(triisopropylsilylethynyl)-1,3,9,11-tetraoxadicyclopenta[b,m]pentacene, EtTP-5) dispersed in the hole transporting material (4,4-bis[N-1-naphthyl-N-phenylamino]biphenyl, alpha-NPD). The films show bright red emission (lambda(max) = 640 nm) as a result of efficient Förster energy transfer from alpha-NPD host molecules to EtTP-5 guest molecules. High absolute photoluminescence (PL) quantum yield (phi(PL) = 76% +/- 4%) and fluorescence lifetime (tau = 18.6 +/- 0.8 ns) were measured at low concentration (0.28 mol % EtTP-5), with moderate PL quenching observed upon increasing the EtTP-5 concentration. The concentrated films (> or = 1.50 mol % EtTP-5) show less evidence of aggregation than previously seen when EtTP-5 was dispersed in tris(quinolin-8-olato)aluminum(III), making alpha-NPD a superior host for the red-emitting EtTP-5.

Unidirectional high intensity narrow-linewidth lasing from a planar random microcavity laser

Lasing was achieved in a new type of random laser: the planar random microcavity laser. The laser consists of a planar microcavity with a random gain layer. Optical confinement by the two-dimensional random cavity and the one-dimensional planar microcavity drastically reduces the number of resonant modes. As a result, the laser output is highly directional (the divergence angle is 1.68 degrees) with an extremely narrow-linewidth and ultralow threshold. All these phenomena are explained in terms of the coupling of random cavity modes and planar microcavity modes. The results demonstrate an important step towards applications of random lasers.

Sensitivity gains in chemosensing by lasing action in organic polymers

Societal needs for greater security require dramatic improvements in the sensitivity of chemical and biological sensors. To meet this challenge, increasing emphasis in analytical science has been directed towards materials and devices having highly nonlinear characteristics; semiconducting organic polymers (SOPs), with their facile excited state (exciton) transport, are prime examples of amplifying materials. SOPs have also been recognized as promising lasing materials, although the susceptibility of these materials to optical damage has thus far limited applications. Here we report that attenuated lasing in optically pumped SOP thin films displays a sensitivity to vapours of explosives more than 30 times higher than is observed from spontaneous emission. Critical to this achievement was the development of a transducing polymer with high thin-film quantum yield, a high optical damage threshold in ambient atmosphere and a record low lasing threshold. Trace vapours of the explosives 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT) and 2,4-dinitrotoluene (DNT) introduce non-radiative deactivation pathways that compete with stimulated emission. We demonstrate that the induced cessation of the lasing action, and associated sensitivity enhancement, is most pronounced when films are pumped at intensities near their lasing threshold. The combined gains from amplifying materials and lasing promise to deliver sensors that can detect explosives with unparalleled sensitivity.