Random lasers from photonic crystal wings of butterfly and moth for speckle-free imaging

Abstract

Several biological membranes have been served as scattering materials of random lasers, but few of them include natural photonic crystals. Here, we propose and demonstrate a facile approach to fabricating high-performance biological photonic crystal random lasers, which is cost-effective and reproducible for mass production. As a benchmark, optical and lasing properties of dye-coated Lepidoptera wings, including Papilio ulysses butterfly and Chrysiridia rhipheus moth, are characterized and show a stable laser emission with a superior threshold of 0.016 mJ/cm2, as compared to previous studies. To deploy the proposed devices in practical implementation, we have applied the as-fabricated biological devices to bright speckle-free imaging applications, which is a more sustainable and more accessible imaging strategy.

Properties and Applications of Random Lasers as Emerging Light Sources and Optical Sensors: A Review

“…The multiple scattering can currently be obtained from various media, such as polymers [ 6 , 7 ], crystalline materials [ 8 , 9 ], semiconductor materials [ 10 , 11 ], scattering micro-/nano-particles [ 12 , 13 ] or a combination of the above scattering systems [ 14 , 15 , 16 ]. In addition, RLs have been achieved in biological materials such as abalone shell [ 17 ], silk [ 18 ], eggshell membranes [ 19 ], leaves [ 20 , 21 ], wings of butterfly/moth/cicada [ 22 , 23 , 24 ], animal tissues (chicken breast [ 25 ], cortical bone [ 26 ], pig head [ 27 ], mouse brain [ 28 ], mouse uterine [ 29 ]) and human tissues (colon [ 30 ], thyroid [ 31 ] and breast [ 32 , 33 , 34 ]). Light can undergo scattering because of the presence of the dielectric constant variations in the above various complex systems.…”

Random Lasing from Label-Free Living Cells for Rapid Cytometry of Apoptosis

“…Biolasers are a leading edge technology that has recently attracted attention because of its potential biomedical and biological applications, for example, cell tagging, imaging, and diagnosis. − Compared with traditional biological fluorescent emissions, biolasing is advantageous because of its threshold-gate behavior, narrow line width, and directional out-coupling. − Over the past few years, various optical systems have been designed to provide optical feedback for biolasers such as Fabry–Perot, whispering gallery mode, and random lasers. − Among them, random lasing was achieved by strong multiple scatterings of light in disordered gain media rather than a fixed cavity. − The ability to generate lasing in biological materials without external cavities is definitely an advantage. Recently, different gain-medium-infiltrated biological materials, such as disordered protein crystals, marine, skeleton, human colon tissues, and interestingly, living cell suspensions, have been shown to support random lasing action. − In particular, the spectral characteristics of random lasing are strongly dependent on the scattering properties of the biological host material, − providing a promising tool for the characterization of biophysical properties. However, applying random lasing to biopsies is still challenging, considering the poor biocompatibility of laser dyes and the limited understanding of the intercellular and intracellular biophysical properties. − …”

Photothermal Effect Controlled Complex Lasing for Decentralized Key Distribution

“…Light–light or light–matter interaction in complex media has been a promising topic, which provides new perspectives for the development of light control and applications in imaging, sensing, secret communication, and optical network, − wherein chaotic, disordered, or random lasing in deformed cavities, irregular structures, or media has become increasingly attractive for multidiscipline applications. − …”