Controlling Random Lasing with Three-Dimensional Plasmonic Nanorod Metamaterials

Wang, Zhuoxian; Meng, Xianwei; Choi, Seung Ho; Knitter, Sebastian; Kim, Young L.; Cao, Hui; Shalaev, Vladimir M.; Boltasseva, Alexandra

doi:10.1021/acs.nanolett.6b00034

Cited by 72 publications

(67 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…In addition, the features of lasing spectra in Ref. 59 are consistent with the behavior exhibited in random lasers with coherent feedback 60 , and thus are distinct from the observations in this work.…”

Section: Toc Graphicsupporting

confidence: 83%

“…It is noteworthy to mention that the lasing herein is distinct from that reported in a previous work based on tilted silver nanorods in terms of sample configuration and lasing mode dispersion 59 . In…”

Section: Toc Graphiccontrasting

confidence: 72%

“…59, the tilted nanorods, acting as random scatterers, have relatively large distributions in both length and diameter. The dyes are infiltrated into the random nanorod arrays where significant scattering is naturally anticipated.…”

Section: Toc Graphicmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Lasing Action with Gold Nanorod Hyperbolic Metamaterials

et al. 2017

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Coherent nanoscale photon sources are of paramount importance to achieving all-optical communication. Several nanolasers smaller than the diffraction limit have been theoretically proposed and experimentally demonstrated using plasmonic cavities to confine optical fields. Such compact cavities exhibit large Purcell factors, thereby enhancing spontaneous emission, which feeds into the lasing mode. However, most plasmonic nanolasers reported so far have employed resonant nanostructures and therefore had the lasing restricted to the proximity of the resonance wavelength. Here, we report on an approach based on gold nanorod hyperbolic metamaterials for lasing. Hyperbolic metamaterials provide broadband Purcell enhancement due to large photonic density of optical states, while also supporting surface plasmon modes to deliver optical feedback for lasing due to nonlocal effects in nanorod media. We experimentally demonstrate the advantage of hyperbolic metamaterials in achieving lasing action by its comparison with that obtained in a metamaterial with elliptic dispersion. The conclusions from the experimental results are supported 2 with numerical simulations comparing the Purcell factors and surface plasmon modes for the metamaterials with different dispersions. We show that although the metamaterials of both types support lasing, emission with hyperbolic samples is about twice as strong with 35% lower threshold vs. the elliptic ones. Hence, hyperbolic metamaterials can serve as a convenient platform of choice for nanoscale coherent photon sources in a broad wavelength range. TOC GraphicWe study lasing in two gold nanorod arrays coated with Rhodamine 101, one exhibiting hyperbolic dispersion at the lasing wavelength, the other with elliptic dispersion. Experiments show the hyperbolic metamaterial provides stronger emission with reduced threshold. 3Since its invention in 1960 1 , the laser has seen tremendous developments and has quickly revolutionized fundamental and applied fields such as metrology, medicine, data storage, fabrication and telecommunications among others 2 . With the ever growing need for data transfer speeds and compact devices, several efforts have been made in miniaturizing the laser for on-chip integration 3-7 . While photonic cavities have proven to exhibit high-Q factors enabling strong lasing, their miniaturization to the nanoscale is not viable since the diffraction limit requires the cavity length to be at least half the lasing wavelength [8][9][10] . In contrast, plasmonic cavities, which can be employed to achieve optical amplification and lasing action with charge oscillations, have successfully led to the design of coherent photon sources no longer limited by the diffraction limit 10 . Coupling of emitters with the strongly confined electromagnetic fields associated with plasmonic oscillations can significantly enhance spontaneous emission in certain modes, a process known as the Purcell effect 11 . This effect yields a redistribution of spontaneous emission over wavevector space ...

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Section: Toc Graphicsupporting

confidence: 83%

Section: Toc Graphiccontrasting

confidence: 72%

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Lasing Action with Gold Nanorod Hyperbolic Metamaterials

et al. 2017

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“…Wang et al . suggested that the optimal amount of metallic nanoparticles in an amplifying random medium was related to the dominance of scattering over absorption for metallic nanoparticles . The authors proposed to use cross‐section ratio, σ sca /σ abs , as a semi‐empirical parameter to characterize the dominance degree of scattering over absorption.…”

Section: Plasmonic Random Lasermentioning

confidence: 99%

Nanolasers Enabled by Metallic Nanoparticles: From Spasers to Random Lasers

Wang

Meng

Kildishev

et al. 2017

Laser & Photonics Reviews

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Owing to exotic optical responses, metallic nanoparticles and nanostructures are finding broad applications in laser science, leading to numerous design variations of plasmonic nanolasers. Nowadays, two of the most intriguing plasmonic nanolasing devices are spasers and random lasers. While a spaser is based on a single metallic nanoparticle resonator with the optical feedback provided by the localized surface plasmon resonance, the operation of a random laser relies on multiple light scattering within randomly distributed metallic nanoparticles. In this paper, an up-to-date review on the applications of metallic nanoparticles in spasers and random lasers is provided. Principles of a random spaser, a device combining the features of a spaser and a random laser, are briefly discussed as well. The paper is focused on major theoretical and experimental approaches to control the core metrics of lasing performance, including threshold, resonant wavelength, and emission directionality. The applications of spasers and random lasers in the fields of sensing and imaging are also mentioned. Finally, the challenges and future perspectives in this area of research are discussed.

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“…54 Densely packed Ag nanorods in arrays, realized by a glancing angle deposition method and tilted at about 30 • with respect to a substrate, induce random lasing in polymer films doped with rhodamine. 55 Forming a plasmonic metamaterial, the nanorods assist the formation of confined laser modes and decrease the lasing threshold up to considerably high packing fraction (7% of metal). Metal nanoparticles can also be directly electrospun together with polymers, thus leading to achieve plasmon-enhanced random lasers.…”

Section: -3mentioning

confidence: 99%

Perspectives: Nanofibers and nanowires for disordered photonics

2017

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As building blocks of microscopically non-homogeneous materials, semiconductor nanowires and polymer nanofibers are emerging component materials for disordered photonics, with unique properties of light emission and scattering. Effects found in assemblies of nanowires and nanofibers include broadband reflection, significant localization of light, strong and collective multiple scattering, enhanced absorption of incident photons, synergistic effects with plasmonic particles, and random lasing. We highlight recent related discoveries, with a focus on material aspects. The control of spatial correlations in complex assemblies during deposition, the coupling of modes with efficient transmission channels provided by nanofiber waveguides, and the embedment of random architectures into individually coded nanowires will allow the potential of these photonic materials to be fully exploited, unconventional physics to be highlighted, and next-generation optical devices to be achieved. The prospects opened by this technology include enhanced random lasing and mode-locking, multi-directionally guided coupling to sensors and receivers, and low-cost encrypting miniatures for encoders and labels.

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Controlling Random Lasing with Three-Dimensional Plasmonic Nanorod Metamaterials

Cited by 72 publications

References 44 publications

Lasing Action with Gold Nanorod Hyperbolic Metamaterials

Lasing Action with Gold Nanorod Hyperbolic Metamaterials

Nanolasers Enabled by Metallic Nanoparticles: From Spasers to Random Lasers

Perspectives: Nanofibers and nanowires for disordered photonics

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