Laser emission in periodically modulated polymer films

Rocha, Licinio; Dumarcher, V.; Denis, Christine; Raimond, Paul; Fiorini, C.; Nunzi, Jean‐Michel

doi:10.1063/1.1335636

Cited by 78 publications

(43 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…[25,26] As yet, there are no reports on the advantages of SRGs formed on azopolymers in terms of their erasable and rewritable properties. In this study, we demonstrate organic DFB lasers with wavelength programmability by utilizing the advantages of SRGs, i.e., the grating can be erased and rewritten.…”

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confidence: 98%

Wavelength‐Programmable Organic Distributed‐Feedback Laser Based on a Photoassisted Polymer‐Migration System

2005

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Microprocessable materials, or materials processable on the micrometer scale, are the key to progress in nanotechnology. Research on photofunctional soft organic materials is an increasingly important area because of their processability and flexibility, which are advantageous to of photonic device systems.[1±7] Thin films of azobenzene-containing polymers (azopolymers) are interesting materials because of their ability to self-organize into structures on the micrometer and nanometer scales, assisted by light. [8] These structures are called photoinduced surface reliefs, and are attributed to mass transport over micrometer distances during trans±cis photoisomerization. [9][10][11][12][13][14] When a flat azopolymer film is exposed to interfering coherent light at an absorption wavelength, a surface relief grating (SRG), i.e., a regular surface relief modulation identical to the interference pattern in a grating period, is formed on it. Once formed, the SRG is stable as long as the polymer is kept in the dark below the glass-transition temperature. However, the SRG can be erased by heating or upon exposure to uniform light at the appropriate absorption wavelength, and can be formed again by exposure to an interference pattern. Taking advantage of these features, we expected that azopolymers could be used in dynamic devices, such as a wavelength-programmable organic distributed-feedback (DFB) laser in which optical feedback is provided by the periodic modulation of either the refractive index or the optical gain, or both.[15±26]Although a few researchers have reported on DFB lasers based on azopolymers with photoinduced SRGs, the SRGs were used only as templates for the grating. [25,26] As yet, there are no reports on the advantages of SRGs formed on azopolymers in terms of their erasable and rewritable properties. In this study, we demonstrate organic DFB lasers with wavelength programmability by utilizing the advantages of SRGs, i.e., the grating can be erased and rewritten. In the design of organic DFB waveguide lasers, single lateralmode propagation, sufficient optical gain, and Bragg diffraction are necessary to obtain a single-peak laser output spectrum. We first attempted to realize a DFB laser using a dye-doped azopolymer film with an SRG. However, the fluorescence of all the laser dyes investigated was significantly quenched, so that the optical gain of the doped film was insufficient for lasing. This quenching was attributed to electron transfer from the azobenzene to the laser dye. To prevent this, we designed a double-layered DFB laser composed of a diffraction layer of an azopolymer, poly{(4-nitrophenyl) [4-[[2-(methacryloyloxy)ethyl]ethylamino]phenyl]diazene}, (pDR1M), and an active layer of laser-dye-doped poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) on a synthetic quartz substrate. We employed malachite green (MG) and sulforhodamine (SR) as laser dyes. By placing the azopolymer layer on the top of the active layer, the azopolymer layer had a free surface which enabled us to construct, erase, and rewrite SRGs.The refra...

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confidence: 98%

Wavelength‐Programmable Organic Distributed‐Feedback Laser Based on a Photoassisted Polymer‐Migration System

2005

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“…The periodic corrugation of the thickness (SRG -Surface Relief Grating) of the photochromic bottom layer in a two-layer system where the upper layer is a luminescent one can serve as a Distributed Feedback (DFB) resonator for organic DFB lasers [1][2][3]. The double layer structure used in these devices results in some limitations, like small refractive index contrast on the interface between the polymers, necessity of proper solvent selection for both polymers, and multistep fabrication.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Surface relief grating formation in luminescent dye doped photochromic polymer containing azobenzene side groups

et al. 2013

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Abstract:We study the formation of a surface relief grating and photoluminescence in a thin layers of a photochromic polymer doped with the luminescent dyes 3-(1,1-dicyanoethenyl)-1-phenyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-pyrazole and Rhodamine 6G. Surface topography measurements via Atomic Force Microscopy confirmed the existence of a surface relief grating with amplitudes as high as 650 nm both for doped and undoped photochromic polymers. Spectroscopic measurements carried out for polymers containing luminescent dyes have shown efficient photoluminescence and amplified spontaneous emission which is characteristic for gain media. PACS

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“…Among the photosensitive materials used for that purpose, azo-containing polymers, in which surface relief gratings are recorded by exploiting the photo-isomerization properties of the azocompounds, have been extensively studied. [12][13][14][15] An important milestone recently reported by Goldenberg et al 16 consisted of including the active laser dyes within the azobenzene polymer layer over which the DFB grating was recorded, so single layer devices could be obtained.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Perylenediimide-based distributed feedback lasers with holographic relief gratings on dichromated gelatine

Ramírez

Quintana

Villalvilla

et al. 2013

Journal of Applied Physics

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One dimensional second-order distributed feedback (DFB) lasers consisting of polystyrene (PS) films doped with a perylenediimide laser dye, deposited over dichromated gelatine (DCG) photoresist layers with solvent resistant relief gratings recorded by holographic lithography, are reported. The advantage of using the grating on DCG in the final device is that the fabrication process is simplified and the grating pattern better preserved, since no etching methods to transfer the grating to another substrate are needed. A very simple model, proposed to explain the experimental waveguide properties, has allowed identifying the waveguide mode at which DFB emission appears, which was the key to optimize the device performance. In the frame of this model, the thickness of the PS and DCG films could be adjusted in order to minimize the laser threshold and to control its wavelength tuneability. The performance of these lasers is comparable to that of recently reported devices based on the same active material, but deposited over high-quality DFB gratings engraved on SiO 2 by nanoimprint lithography.a Author to whom correspondence should be addressed. Electronic mail: maria.diaz@ua.es 2

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Laser emission in periodically modulated polymer films

Cited by 78 publications

References 18 publications

Wavelength‐Programmable Organic Distributed‐Feedback Laser Based on a Photoassisted Polymer‐Migration System

Wavelength‐Programmable Organic Distributed‐Feedback Laser Based on a Photoassisted Polymer‐Migration System

Surface relief grating formation in luminescent dye doped photochromic polymer containing azobenzene side groups

Perylenediimide-based distributed feedback lasers with holographic relief gratings on dichromated gelatine

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