Optimization of lasing in an inverted-opal titania photonic crystal cavity as an organic solid-state dye-doped laser

Abstract

Lasing performance of a dye-doped laser by encapsulating orange fluorescent dye 4-(Dicyanomethylene)-2-methyl-6-(4-dimethylaminostyryl)-4H-pyran (DCM) with different concentrations in a highly ordered three-dimensional (3D) inverted-opal titania (TiO₂) photonic crystal (PC) microcavity was studied. The lasing threshold and laser quality were improved by optimizing the concentration of the laser dye DCM. When the concentration of DCM is optimized to 10^-4 mol/l, the photoluminescence (PL) efficiency of DCM is sufficient to achieve lasing emission and meanwhile no fluorescence quantum quenching occurs. Therefore, the emission spectrum was greatly narrowed and the threshold was significantly improved, which reached 0.8 mJ pulse^-1 cm^-2. Our findings are promising results toward the realization of fabricating a highly efficient low-threshold organic laser.

Filling in the gaps: The nature of light transmission through solvent-filled inverse opal photonic crystals

“…As such, inverse opal materials are incorporated into a wide variety of disciplines, including optical [17][18][19], energy storage [20,21], biological [22][23][24] and medical fields [25,26]. The novel, repeating structure can act as an optical waveguide [27], a refractive index sensor [28,29], a biosensor for virus detection [25,30], an enhanced material for solar absorption [31,32], the gain medium in lasing materials [33,34] and structured electrode materials in Li-ion batteries [35][36][37][38][39].…”

Tetrahedral framework of inverse opal photonic crystals defines the optical response and photonic band gap

“…Opal-based photonic crystals have been extensively examined as a model system for controlling the flow of light [25], and form a basis for optical waveguiding [26], enhanced angle-dependent absorbers for tandem solar cells [27], as sensors [28], photocatalytic materials [29] and more recently as templates for Li-ion battery material [30][31][32]. The periodic framework and presence of a PBG in photonic crystal structures has led to their increased interest as lasing media, with reports of enhanced light confinement [33] and an improved lasing threshold [34] arising from inverse opal based gain media. Photonic crystals are also attractive materials in the field of nonlinear optics with reports of drastically improved second [35,36] and third [37,38] harmonic generation from periodic dielectric structures, achieved through tuning the pump wavelength with respect to the position of the PBG.…”

How Light Passes Through Ordered Macroporous Photonic Crystals Immersed in Solvents

“…Many forms of these photonic crystals ca be formed, allowing the tuning of the PBG frequency range by dielectric contrast and material choice (15) and by the rational choice of refractive index contrast (16,17). Inverse opal materials are used in many different research fields, including optical (18)(19)(20), energy storage (21,22), biological (23)(24)(25) and medical fields (26,27), the gain medium in lasing materials (28,29) and structured electrode materials in Li-ion batteries (30)(31)(32)(33)(34).…”