Open AccessTunable liquid-crystal microshell-laser based on whispering-gallery modes and photonic band-gap mode lasing
Author(s) -
Yijun Lu,
Yue Yang,
Yan Wang,
Lei Wang,
Jin Ma,
Lingli Zhang,
Weimin Sun,
Yongjun Liu
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
optics express
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.394
H-Index - 271
ISSN - 1094-4087
DOI - 10.1364/oe.26.003277
Subject(s) - lasing threshold , whispering gallery wave , materials science , photonic crystal , optics , liquid crystal , optoelectronics , laser , cholesteric liquid crystal , photonics , refractive index , resonator , physics , wavelength
The lasing behaviors of dye-doped cholesteric liquid crystal (DDCLC) microshells fabricated with silica-glass-microsphere coated DDCLCs were examined. Lasing characteristics were studied in a carrier medium with different refractive indices. The lasing in spherical cholesteric liquid crystals (CLCs) was attributed to two mechanisms, photonic band-gap (PBG) lasing and whispering-gallery modes (WGMs), which can independently exist by varying the chiral agent concentration and pumping energy. It was also found that DDCLC microshells can function as highly sensitive thermal sensors, with a temperature sensitivity of 0.982 nm °C -1 in PBG modes and 0.156 nm °C -1 in WGMs.