Lasing with well-defined cavity modes in dye-infiltrated silica inverse opals.
Lasing in dye solution-embedded inverse silica opal structures was investigated. The opal films were prepared by sedimentation of polystyrene microspheres on a cover glass. The polystyrene structures were inverted using sol-gel infiltration of silica and subsequent removal of polystyrene. Photoluminescence of rhodamine (rhodamine B, 6G and sulfo-rhodamine 101) dye solutions embedded into the inverse silica opal structures exhibited clear signatures of the lasing via a distributed feedback (DFB) and gain modulation. The refractive index contrast between the dye and the inverse opal was small enough (approximately 0.03%) for the formation of refractive index coupling between the lasing modes. The lasing spectrum exhibited a highly regular periodic structure of modal peaks, rather than the chaotic superposition of peaks reported in previous studies. Lasing modes having a spectral width of about 0.25 nm and a free spectral range of about 0.75 nm appeared at the position of the maximum gain (the maximum fluorescence of the dye).
Nishijima
Yoshiaki
Y
Research Institute for Electronic Science, Hokkaido University, CRIS Bldg., Kita 21 Nishi 10, Kita-ku Sapporo 001-0021, Japan.
Ueno
Kosei
K
Juodkazis
Saulius
S
Mizeikis
Vygantas
V
Fujiwara
Hideki
H
Sasaki
Keiji
K
Misawa
Hiroaki
H
D005456:Fluorescent Dyes / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000528:radiation effects*; D007834:Lasers; D012542:Scattering, Radiation; D012822:Silicon Dioxide / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000528:radiation effects*
D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D012822:Silicon Dioxide