Experimental and Theoretical Investigation of the Polymer Optical Fiber Random Laser with Resonant Feedback

Abstract

demonstration of RFL by inserting TiO 2 particles and rhodamine 6G dyes into the hollow core of a photonic crystal fiber, which opened the research field of RFLs. [15] Subsequently, both coherent and incoherent RFLs based on various fiber structures have been demonstrated. [16][17][18] These RFLs have several merits like low threshold, directional output, and low-cost fabrication, indicating that they are superior to other conventional RLs in some applications. [16] According to the feedback mechanism, RFLs can be generally classified into two categories: (1) RFLs based on common single mode fibers with the feedback provided by Rayleigh scattering and Raman effect, [19][20][21][22][23][24][25] (2) RFLs based on specific fibers (e.g., liquid core optical fibers, polymer optical fibers, and erbium-doped fibers) with the feedback provided by doped particles or randomly distributed Bragg gratings. [16,[26][27][28][29][30][31] For the first type of RFLs, their length are normally more than several kilometers, which limits their applications. [18] Conversely, the size of the second type of RFLs is in the centimeter scale. [26] Moreover, the properties of the second type of RFLs (e.g., shape, size, lasing wavelength, and laser threshold) could be tuned via controlling the fiber materials, scatterers, and optical gain medium. [27,28,32] As a result, the second type of RFLs can be regarded as ideal experimental systems for the investigation of random lasing with novel materials (like plasmonic materials), which have already been reported in several studies. [17,33,34] However, these studies mainly focus on experimental studies and corresponding theoretical models are still lacking to date. There is a need to find an effective numerical model to describe the lasing dynamic in the RFLs. Moreover, although RFLs have great potential in various applications, no practical application has been reported in the past studies.In the present work, we have demonstrated polymer optical fiber RLs (POFRLs) by doping TiO 2 nanoparticles and Rh640 perchlorate dyes into the core of the POFs. The optical gain in our POFRL was provided by Rh640 perchlorate dyes which are widely used organic luminescent dyes for many dye laser systems. The TiO 2 nanoparticles worked as scatterers to provide multiscattering events for light propagation and the resulting scattering strength is in the weakly scattering regime (scattering mean free path l s ≫ emission wavelength λ). Multimode and coherent random lasing was observed in our POFRLs, which 1D random fiber laser is a novel fiber-based laser, which exhibits many unique optical properties and shows great promise for various applications including speckle-free imaging. A multimode and coherent polymer optical fiber random laser (POFRL) is successfully fabricated by doping TiO 2 nanoparticles and Rh640 perchlorate dyes in the core of a polymer optical fiber (POF). The waveguide effect provided by the POF greatly increases the multiscattering events for light propagation and results in laser cavity with muc...

Monolithic waveguide laser mode-locked by embedded Ag nanoparticles operating at 1 μm

“…Waveguide lasers are miniature light sources which, compared with the bulk systems, have reduced lasing thresholds and enhanced efficiencies due to the compact geometries of the waveguiding structures [1][2][3][4][5][6][7]. The dielectric waveguide lasers are well investigated by researchers to realize diverse applications in a number of areas [8][9][10]. These waveguides are constructed based on the platforms of laser materials, including crystals, glass and ceramics [11][12][13][14].…”

A Random Laser Based on Hybrid Fluorescent Dye and Diamond Nanoneedles

“…These lasers are unconventional in that they require no optical cavity but use disordered structures to scatter light. To date, random lasing has been observed in semiconductor powders, dielectric scatterers, porous silica, polymers, metallic nanoparticles, micro and nanowires, and optical fibers . Compared to standard lasers which employ optical components such as gratings, waveguides and resonators, the construction and alignment of a random laser is very simple and does not require sophisticated fabrication techniques.…”

Melt-Spun Photoluminescent Polymer Optical Fibers for Color-Tunable Textile Illumination

“…This type of device is known as a luminescent solar concentrator (LSC) and has been realized in the form of either planar or cylindrical waveguides [ 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 ]. Furthermore, PL waveguides are also utilized for optical communication, sensing, and illumination [ 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 ].…”