Fluidic fibre dye lasers

Random lasing in an Anderson localizing optical fiber

A directional random laser mediated by transverse Anderson localization in a disordered glass optical fiber is reported. Previous demonstrations of random lasers have found limited applications because of their multi-directionality and chaotic fluctuations in the laser emission. The random laser presented in this paper operates in the Anderson localization regime. The disorder induced localized states form isolated local channels that make the output laser beam highly directional and stabilize its spectrum. The strong transverse disorder and longitudinal invariance result in isolated lasing modes with negligible interaction with their surroundings, traveling back and forth in a Fabry-Perot cavity formed by the air-fiber interfaces. It is shown that if a localized input pump is scanned across the disordered fiber input facet, the output laser signal follows the transverse position of the pump. Moreover, a uniformly distributed pump across the input facet of the disordered fiber generates a laser signal with very low spatial coherence that can be of practical importance in many optical platforms including image transport with fiber bundles.

Spectral selectivity in optical fiber capillary dye lasers

We explore the spectral properties of a capillary dye laser in the highly multimode regime. Our experiments indicate that the spectral behavior of the laser does not conform to a simple Fabry-Perot (FP) analysis; rather, it is strongly dictated by a Vernier resonant mechanism involving multiple modes, which propagate with different group velocities. The laser operates over a very broad spectral range and the Vernier effect gives rise to a free spectral range, which is orders of magnitude larger than that expected from a simple FP mechanism. The theoretical calculations presented confirm the experimental results. Propagating modes of the capillary fiber are calculated using the finite-element method and it is shown that the optical path lengths resulting from simultaneous beatings of these modes are in close agreement with the optical path lengths directly extracted from the Fourier transform of the experimentally measured laser emission spectra.

Fiber-based tunable microcavity fluidic dye laser

We investigate a tunable fluidic dye laser formed by a microcavity filled with a dye solution. We achieve a wide 18 nm tunability of the laser wavelength by controlling the cavity length for the first time. The microcavity is made of a silica capillary and two aligned fibers with end faces Au-coated. The Rhodamine 6G dye solution flowing through the microcavity is pumped by 532 nm wavelength laser pulses. Laser emission around 570 nm in the form of TE mode with a threshold of about 58  μJ/pulse is obtained. This work suggests a fiber-based convenient approach to achieve wavelength tunability and integration with lab-on-a-chip systems.

Solvent-free fluidic organic dye lasers

We report on the demonstration of liquid organic dye lasers based on 9-(2-ethylhexyl)carbazole (EHCz), so-called liquid carbazole, doped with green- and red-emitting laser dyes. Both waveguide and Fabry-Perot type microcavity fluidic organic dye lasers were prepared by capillary action under solvent-free conditions. Cascade Förster-type energy transfer processes from liquid carbazole to laser dyes were employed to achieve color-variable amplified spontaneous emission and lasing. Overall, this study provides the first step towards the development of solvent-free fluidic organic semiconducting lasers and demonstrates a new kind of optoelectronic applications for liquid organic semiconductors.

Optofluidic magnetometer developed in a microstructured optical fiber

A directional, in-fiber optofluidic magnetometer based on a microstructured optical fiber (MOF) Bragg-grating infiltrated with a ferrofluidic defect is presented. Upon application of a magnetic field, the ferrofluidic defect moves along the length of the MOF Bragg grating, modifying its reflection spectrum. The magnetometer is capable of measuring magnetic fields from 317 to 2500 G. The operational principle of such in-fiber magnetic field probe allows the elaboration of directional measurements of the magnetic field flux.

Elastomer based tunable optofluidic devices

The synergetic integration of photonics and microfluidics has enabled a wide range of optofluidic devices that can be tuned based on various physical mechanisms. One such tuning mechanism can be realized based on the elasticity of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). The mechanical tuning of these optofluidic devices was achieved by modifying the geometry of the device upon applying internal or external forces. External or internal forces can deform the elastomeric components that in turn can alter the optical properties of the device or directly induce flow. In this review, we discuss recent progress in tunable optofluidic devices, where tunability is enabled by the elasticity of the construction material. Different subtypes of such tuning methods will be summarized, namely tuning based on bulk or membrane deformations, and pneumatic actuation.

Efficient and short-range light coupling to index-matched liquid-filled hole in a solid-core photonic crystal fiber

A photonic crystal fiber (PCF) with a section of one of the holes next to the solid core filled with an index-matched liquid is studied. Liquid filling alters the core geometry, which locally comprises the original silica core, the liquid channel and the silica around it. It is demonstrated that when light reaches the filled section, it periodically and efficiently couples to the liquid, via the excitation of a number of modes of the composite core, with coupling lengths ranging from tens to hundreds of microns. The resulting modal-interference-modulated spectrum shows temperature sensitivity as high as 5.35 nm/°C. The proposed waveguide geometry presents itself as an interesting way to pump and/or to probe liquid media within the fiber, combining advantages usually found separately in liquid-filled hollow-core PCFs (high light-liquid overlap) and in solid-core PCFs (low insertion losses). Therefore, pumping and luminescence guiding with a PCF filled with a Rhodamine solution is also demonstrated.

Optofluidic compound microlenses made by emulsion techniques

Here we present a new method to make liquid lenses. It is based on the microfluidics method and involves the preparation of emulsions one drop at a time. Tests of lenses by image formation are presented. Experimental results are compared with results of an optical design program. We also present a new type of lens that we call a Compound Lens which consists of two spherical lenses, one inside the other.

Amplified spontaneous emission properties of semiconducting organic materials

This paper aims to review the recent advances achieved in the field of organic solid-state lasers with respect to the usage of semiconducting organic molecules and oligomers in the form of thin films as active laser media. We mainly focus on the work performed in the last few years by our research group. The amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) properties, by optical pump, of various types of molecules doped into polystyrene films in waveguide configuration, are described. The various systems investigated include N,N′-bis(3-methylphenyl)-N,N′-diphenylbenzidine (TPD), several perilenediimide derivatives (PDIs), as well as two oligo-phenylenevinylene derivatives. The ASE characteristics, i.e., threshold, emission wavelength, linewidth, and photostability are compared with that of other molecular materials investigated in the literature.

UV patterned nanoporous solid-liquid core waveguides

Nanoporous Solid-Liquid core waveguides were prepared by UV induced surface modification of hydrophobic nanoporous polymers. With this method, the index contrast (deltan = 0.20) is a result of selective water infiltration. The waveguide core is defined by UV light, rendering the exposed part of a nanoporous polymer block hydrophilic. A propagation loss of 0.62 dB/mm and a bend loss of 0.81 dB/90 degrees for bend radius as low as 1.75 mm was obtained in these multimode waveguides.

Blue surface-emitting distributed feedback lasers based on TPD-doped films

Single-mode second-order distributed feedback (DFB) lasers with low threshold, based on polystyrene films doped with 30 wt. % of the hole-transporting organic molecule N,N'-bis (3-methylphenyl)-N,N'-diphenylbenzidine (TPD) are reported. The laser emission wavelength was tuned between 415 and 427 nm by film thickness variation. The effectiveness of the DFB grating in improving the laser performance is evidenced by the observation of linewidths and laser thresholds lower than those of the amplified spontaneous emission characteristics shown by films without gratings. The use of holographic lithography as the technique for grating recording has allowed us to prepare large samples in a fast, versatile, and simple manner.

Pressure measurements through image analysis

Here we propose a new optical method, to our knowledge, to measure the pressure in liquids or gases by means of a flexible lens. Images of an object given by the dynamical lens are analyzed, and through the visibility of those images pressure is inferred.

All-fiber cavity dumping

Cavity dumping of an all-fiber laser system is demonstrated. The active element is a pulse-picker with nanosecond rise time consisting of a microstructured fiber with electrically driven internal electrodes. The device is used for intracavity polarization rotation and dumping through a polarization splitter. The optical flux is removed from the cavity within one roundtrip and most of the amplified spontaneous emission, spiking and relaxation oscillation that follow during the gain recovery phase of the laser are blocked from the output signal.

Random fiber laser

We investigate the effects of two-dimensional confinement on the lasing properties of a classical random laser system operating in the incoherent feedback (diffusive) regime. A suspension of 250 nm rutile (TiO2) particles in a rhodamine 6G solution was inserted into the hollow core of a photonic crystal fiber generating the first random fiber laser and a novel quasi-one-dimensional random laser geometry. A comparison with similar systems in bulk format shows that the random fiber laser presents an efficiency that is at least 2 orders of magnitude higher.