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Reverse mode switching of the random laser emission
in dye doped liquid crystals under homogeneous
and inhomogeneous electric fields
M. Shasti,
1,
* P. Coutino,
1
S. Mukherjee,
1
A. Varanytsia,
2
T. Smith,
1
A. P. Luchette,
1
L. Sukhomlinova,
1
T. Kosa,
1
A. Munoz,
1
and B. Taheri
1
1
AlphaMicron Inc., 1950 State Route 59, Kent, Ohio 44240-4112, USA
2
Liquid Crystal Institute, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio 44240-4112, USA
*Corresponding author: antonio@alphamicron.com
Received July 6, 2015; revised November 4, 2015; accepted November 19, 2015;
posted November 20, 2015 (Doc. ID 244292); published January 6, 2016
We report the observation of electric field induced random lasing in a dye doped liquid crystal system. This was
achieved by using a liquid crystal host with negative dielectric anisotropy doped with laser dye PM 597 in a 75 μm
cell with a homeotropic alignment layer. In the absence of an applied field, only amplified spontaneous emission
was observed since the liquid crystal orientation was uniform. However, application of a field resulted in a field-
induced planar-like configuration with local nonuniformity in liquid crystal orientation. This led to random lasing
in the energized state (voltage greater than a transition threshold). The onset of lasing occurs by application of
either a spatially homogenous or a spatially inhomogeneous electric field across the liquid crystal. The character-
istics of the emission spectra as a function of different (i) dye concentration and (ii) applied voltage were inves-
tigated using nanosecond pulsed laser excitation at 532 nm. The effects of using an inhomogeneous field were
compared to the use of a homogenous field and reported. It is shown that the spatial configuration can be used
to alter the emission spectra of the system. The work is used to suggest a new configuration, referred to here as
“reverse mode,” for liquid crystal-based random lasers. This new configuration may provide additional avenues
for their use in commercial devices. © 2016 Chinese Laser Press
OCIS codes: (160.3380) Laser materials; (160.3710) Liquid crystals.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1364/PRJ.4.000007
1. INTRODUCTION
There is a continued interest in lasing in dye doped liquid crys-
tals (DDLCs) based on prospects for building compact, all-
organic, tunable mirrorless lasers, with potential applications
ranging from miniature spectroscopic and medical tools to
large area holographic laser displays. Broadly, DDLCs are cat-
egorized into (i) band edge cholesteric liquid crystal (CLC)
lasers [1,2] and (ii) random lasers (RLs) [3,4], with significant
scientific work on the mechanism of their operation presented
in the literature [1–11]. In both cases, important aspects re-
main to be addressed before technological applications can
be realized. For CLC lasing, a number of media and pulse
widths have been observed [1,2,7]. They can provide low
threshold, single mode lasing at specific wavelengths.
They are ideally suited for seed lasing. Their use for high
power emission is limited and is still under investigation.
Conversely, for DDLC RLs, control of emission bandwidth
and onset of lasing remain a challenge. In particular, random
lasing in a variety of liquid crystal systems, including Polymer
Dispersed Liquid Crystals and planar with both positive and
negative Δε hosts, have been studied. Furthermore, observa-
tions on electrically controlled RL in dye doped nematic liquid
crystals (NLCs) have been reported in the literature [10]. In all
the previous work, application of the electric field is used to
eliminate the laser action by decreasing the absorption and
the spontaneous emitted fluorescence of the dye. These sys-
tems are referred to as “normal mode” since they are utilizing
the liquid crystal operation in the most common manner. It is
important to note that in many technological applications, it is
more desirable to use external stimuli to induce laser action
when needed. Therefore, in this paper, we present a configu-
ration that can provide a “reverse mode” operation of guest-
host-based RLs.
To achieve this, we use a liquid crystal host with negative
dielectric anisotropy, doped with a positive dichroic laser
dye, in a homeotropic aligned cell. Application of sufficient
voltage (V
th
) across the cell results in a field-induced planar
configuration, with the liquid crystal + dye mixture molecules
oriented parallel to the rubbing direction. However, due to in-
herent degeneracy in the system combined with low anchor-
ing at the surfaces, the planar configuration will contain local
nonuniformity in the liquid crystal orientation. This nonuni-
formity acts as scattering sites. A delicate balance is estab-
lished between the field induced gain/loss mechanisms in
our samples, which results in random lasing when pumped
with a nanosecond excitation laser.
We have further explored the use of homogenous versus
nonhomogenous fields on the lasing characteristics of the sys-
tem. The experimental results suggest that the lasing charac-
teristics (threshold, intensity, and wavelength) of the RLs can
be modulated by the pattern of the applied field in addition to
increasing the applied voltage and optimizing the dye concen-
tration of the liquid crystal mixture.
Shasti et al. Vol. 4, No. 1 / February 2016 / Photon. Res. 7
2327-9125/16/010007-06 © 2016 Chinese Laser Press