Continuous spatial tuning of laser emissions in a full visible spectral range

Multifunctional Optical Device with a Continuous Tunability over 500 nm Spectral Range Using Polymerized Cholesteric Liquid Crystals

We report that polymerization makes a robust, practically applicable multifunctional optical device with a continuous wavelength tunable over 500 nm spectral range using UV-polymerizable cholesteric liquid crystals (CLCs). It can be used as a circular polarizer generating an extremely high degree of circularly polarized light with |g| = 1.85~2.00. It can also be used for optical notch filters, bandwidth-variable (from ~28 nm to ~93 nm) bandpass filters, mirrors, and intensity-variable beam splitters. Furthermore, this CLC device shows excellent stability owing to the polymerization of CLC cells. Its performance remains constant for a long time (~2 years) after a high-temperature exposure (170 °C for 1 h) and an extremely high laser beam intensity exposure (~143 W/cm² of CW 532 nm diode laser and ~2.98 MW/cm² of Nd: YAG pulse laser operation for two hours, respectively). The optical properties of polymerized CLC were theoretically analyzed by Berreman’s 4 × 4 matrix method. The characteristics of this device were significantly improved by introducing an anti-reflection layer on the device. This wavelength-tunable and multifunctional device could dramatically increase optical research efficiency in various spectroscopic works. It could be applied to many instruments using visible and near-infrared wavelengths.

Electro-tunable liquid crystal laser based on high-Q Fabry-Pérot microcavity

We demonstrate an electro-tunable laser based on a plano-concave (p-c) Fabry-Pérot (FP) microcavity filled with dye-doped liquid crystal (LC) gain material. Owing to the high Q-factor of the p-c FP microcavity, the lasing threshold of the LC laser is as low as 0.58 µJ/mm². The single-mode emission wavelength can be easily tuned by varying applied voltage, which induces the reconfiguration of LC molecules. Furthermore, this lasing platform operates at room temperature, thanks to the wide temperature range of the nematic LC. We believe that our LC laser is widely applicable to light sources of various micro total analysis systems.

Active thermal fine laser tuning in a broad spectral range and optical properties of cholesteric liquid crystal

In this study, we achieved active fine laser tuning in a broad spectral range with dye-doped cholesteric liquid crystal wedge-type cells through temperature control. The spatial pitch gradient of each position of the wedge cell at room temperature was almost maintained after developing a temperature gradient. To achieve the maximum tuning range, the chiral dopant concentration, thickness, thickness gradient, and temperature gradient on the wedge cell should be matched properly. In order to understand the laser tuning mechanism for temperature change, we studied the temperature dependence of optical properties of the photonic bandgap of cholesteric liquid crystals. In our cholesteric liquid crystal samples, when temperature was increased, photonic bandgaps were shifted toward blue, while the width of the photonic bandgap was decreased, regardless of whether the helicity was left-handed or right-handed. This is mainly due to the combination of decreased refractive indices, higher molecular anisotropy of chiral molecules, and increased chiral molecular solubility. We envisage that this kind of study will prove useful in the development of practical active tunable CLC laser devices.

Firsthand in situ observation of active fine laser tuning by combining a temperature gradient and a CLC wedge cell structure

In situ direct observation of the lasing process in a cholesteric liquid crystal (CLC) laser array using a CMOS camera was used to investigate discontinuous laser tuning in a parallel CLC cell. In accordance with the discontinuous pitch change by thermal energy transfer, at the same time the laser wavelength undergoes an immediate and discontinuous shift. And we found out the reason why the CLC phase has domain textures. And this work develops a simple active tunable laser array by forming a spatial temperature gradient along a wedge CLC cell. With this new strategy, only just about 7 nm laser tuning range at room temperature is extremely widened over the 105 nm wavelength range with about 0.2 nm tuning resolution. Furthermore, there is no aging effect because the employed CLC array has only one chiral molecular concentration. This strategy could be used in a practical CLC laser device application.