Premium
Low‐Threshold Wavelength‐Switchable Organic Nanowire Lasers Based on Excited‐State Intramolecular Proton Transfer
Author(s) -
Zhang Wei,
Yan Yongli,
Gu Jianmin,
Yao Jiannian,
Zhao Yong Sheng
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
angewandte chemie
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1521-3757
pISSN - 0044-8249
DOI - 10.1002/ange.201502684
Subject(s) - lasing threshold , materials science , optoelectronics , excited state , laser , nanowire , amplified spontaneous emission , proton , photoisomerization , stimulated emission , wavelength , optics , chemistry , atomic physics , physics , biochemistry , isomerization , catalysis , quantum mechanics
Abstract Coherent light signals generated at the nanoscale are crucial to the realization of photonic integrated circuits. Self‐assembled nanowires from organic dyes can provide both a gain medium and an effective resonant cavity, which have been utilized for fulfilling miniaturized lasers. Excited‐state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT), a classical molecular photoisomerization process, can be used to build a typical four‐level system, which is more favorable for population inversion. Low‐power driven lasing in proton‐transfer molecular nanowires with an optimized ESIPT energy‐level process has been achieved. With high gain and low loss from the ESIPT, the wires can be applied as effective FP‐type resonators, which generated single‐mode lasing with a very low threshold. The lasing wavelength can be reversibly switched based on a conformation conversion of the excited keto form in the ESIPT process.