April 2015
Spotlight Summary by Andrey N. Kuzmin
Shape-memory polymers as flexible resonator substrates for continuously tunable organic DFB lasers
Simple, robust and inexpensive tunable single-mode microlasers are of particular interest for a wide spectrum of commercial and scientific applications in the most challenging areas - health care, security and environmental monitoring. Such lasers are recognized as potential light sources for photonic integrated circuits and lab-on-chips for detection and characterization of individual micro- or nano-objects like virions or bacteria.
In this regard, the laser information bank was enriched by the novel microlaser design disclosed in the publication of Schauer et al. in Optics Express, where shape-memory polymers were introduced as flexible resonator substrates for continuously tunable organic DFB lasers. The core of the device is a Tecoflex EG-72D shape-memory thermoplastic polymer substrate with second order Bragg surface grating profile and organic semiconductor Alq3:DCM as a laser medium. Mechanical stretching of the substrate, precisely controlled by a thermoelectric unit, changes the grating period by triggering the shape-memory effect. In this way, the DFB grating period can be adjusted to achieve continuous tuning of the single-mode laser emission within a wavelength range of 30 nm between ~600 and 630 nm.
This design of tunable micro-laser can be used for the development of inexpensive and portable spectroscopic and other optically-based analytical tools for individual usage.
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In this regard, the laser information bank was enriched by the novel microlaser design disclosed in the publication of Schauer et al. in Optics Express, where shape-memory polymers were introduced as flexible resonator substrates for continuously tunable organic DFB lasers. The core of the device is a Tecoflex EG-72D shape-memory thermoplastic polymer substrate with second order Bragg surface grating profile and organic semiconductor Alq3:DCM as a laser medium. Mechanical stretching of the substrate, precisely controlled by a thermoelectric unit, changes the grating period by triggering the shape-memory effect. In this way, the DFB grating period can be adjusted to achieve continuous tuning of the single-mode laser emission within a wavelength range of 30 nm between ~600 and 630 nm.
This design of tunable micro-laser can be used for the development of inexpensive and portable spectroscopic and other optically-based analytical tools for individual usage.
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Article Information
Shape-memory polymers as flexible resonator substrates for continuously tunable organic DFB lasers
Senta Schauer, Xin Liu, Matthias Worgull, Uli Lemmer, and Hendrik Hölscher
Opt. Mater. Express 5(3) 576-584 (2015) View: Abstract | HTML | PDF