title: LED pumped polymer laser sensor for explosives.
abstract: A very compact explosive vapor sensor is demonstrated based on a distributed feedback polymer laser pumped by a commercial InGaN light-emitting diode. The laser shows a two-stage turn on of the laser emission, for pulsed drive currents above 15.7 A. The 'double-threshold' phenomenon is attributed to the slow rise of the ∼30 ns duration LED pump pulses. The laser emits a 533 nm pulsed output beam of ∼10 ns duration perpendicular to the polymer film. When exposed to nitroaromatic model explosive vapors at ∼8 ppb concentration, the laser shows a 46% change in the surface-emitted output under optimized LED excitation.
authors.affiliation: Organic Semiconductor Centre, SUPA, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of St Andrews North Haugh, St Andrews, KY16 9SS, UK.
authors.forename: Yue
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Organic Semiconductor Centre, SUPA, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of St Andrews North Haugh, St Andrews, KY16 9SS, UK.
authors.forename: Paulina O
authors.initials: PO
authors.lastname: Morawska
authors.affiliation: WestCHEM, Department of Pure and Applied Chemistry, University of Strathclyde Thomas Graham Building, Glasgow, G1 1XL, UK.
authors.forename: Alexander L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Kanibolotsky
authors.affiliation: WestCHEM, Department of Pure and Applied Chemistry, University of Strathclyde Thomas Graham Building, Glasgow, G1 1XL, UK.
authors.forename: Peter J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Skabara
authors.affiliation: Organic Semiconductor Centre, SUPA, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of St Andrews North Haugh, St Andrews, KY16 9SS, UK.
authors.forename: Graham A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Turnbull
authors.affiliation: Organic Semiconductor Centre, SUPA, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of St Andrews North Haugh, St Andrews, KY16 9SS, UK.
authors.forename: Ifor D W
authors.initials: ID
authors.lastname: Samuel
keywords: distributed feedback laser; explosive sensing; indirect electrically pumping; organic semiconductor; triplet exciton
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