Microfluidic single-mode laser using high-order Bragg grating and antiguiding segments

Abstract

We present a single-mode, single-polarization, distributed feedback liquid dye laser, based on a short high-order Bragg grating defined in a single polymer layer between two glass substrates. In this device we obtain single-mode operation in a multimode structure by means of transverse-mode discrimination with antiguiding segments. The laser is fabricated using microfabrication technology, is pumped by a pulsed frequency-doubled Nd:YAG laser, and emits narrow-line-width light in the chip plane at 577 nm. The output from the laser is coupled into integrated planar waveguides defined in the same polymer _lm. The laser device is thus well suited for integration, for example, into polymer based lab-on-a-chip microsystems.

Optofluidic dye lasers

“…Later, more efficient cavities were achieved using Bragg gratings, which enabled narrow linewidth single frequency output. Balslev and Kristensen (2005) demonstrated a single-mode dye laser on the basis of a multimode waveguide structure and a *130th Bragg grating. Approximately single spatial mode operation was observed due to the high losses of higher order spatial modes in the antiguiding segments.…”

Bioinspired optofluidic FRET lasers via DNA scaffolds

“…fluorescence resonance energy transfer | optofluidics | ring resonators O ptofluidic lasers are an emerging technology that combines the advantages of compactness and easy liquid manipulation of microfluidics, and dynamic wavelength tunability and broad spectral coverage of dye lasers (1)(2)(3). Optical feedback in those optofluidic lasers has been achieved using high-Q ring resonators [e.g., microdroplets (4,5), microspheres (6), microcylinders (7), microcapillaries (8,9), and microfiber knots (10)], Fabry-Pérot cavities (11,12), and distributed feedback gratings (3,13). In nearly all those lasers, the gain medium is directly excited by tuning the pump laser into the dye absorption band, which requires that the pump laser wavelength match the particular dye absorption.…”

Bleaching and diffusion dynamics in optofluidic dye lasers

“…This has stimulated a large effort in integrating fluidics and optics in lab-on-a-chip microsystems, 1 partly defining the emerging field of optofluidics, as recently reviewed by Psaltis et al 2 and Monat et al 3 Among the investigated components are miniaturized fluidic dye lasers, also referred to as optofluidic dye lasers. [4][5][6][7][8][9] The so far reported optofluidic dye lasers are pulsed in order to have a short interaction time between the dye molecules and the pump light, thus suppressing the formation of triplet states unsuitable for lasing. This contrasts macroscopic continuous-wave dye lasers where the suppression is mediated by a jet flow of the dye solution with typical velocities of several m/s.…”

“…This strategy has been central to the so far reported microfluidic dye lasers. [4][5][6][7][8][9]11,12 However, the very different scaling of ⌫ D and ⌫ v with w offers an alternative and attractive replenishment mechanism in micron-scale systems. Usually the convective term v · ٌc is driving the replenishment, but if ⌫ D ӷ max͑⌫ v , ⌫ 0 ͒ we have the freedom to completely turn off convection and entirely rely on diffusion.…”