title: Optofluidic lasers with a single molecular layer of gain.
abstract: We achieve optofluidic lasers with a single molecular layer of gain, in which green fluorescent protein, dye-labeled bovine serum albumin, and dye-labeled DNA, are used as the gain medium and attached to the surface of a ring resonator via surface immobilization biochemical methods. It is estimated that the surface density of the gain molecules is on the order of 10(12) cm(-2), sufficient for lasing under pulsed optical excitation. It is further shown that the optofluidic laser can be tuned by energy transfer mechanisms through biomolecular interactions. This work not only opens a door to novel photonic devices that can be controlled at the level of a single molecular layer but also provides a promising sensing platform to analyze biochemical processes at the solid-liquid interface.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA. xsfan@umich.edu.
authors.forename: Qiushu
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ritt
authors.forename: Sivaraj
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sivaramakrishnan
authors.forename: Yuze
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: Xudong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Fan
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002417:Cattle; D004247:DNA / Q000737:chemistry*; D007834:Lasers; D055095:Optics and Photonics / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods*; D012710:Serum Albumin, Bovine / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D012710:Serum Albumin, Bovine; D004247:DNA