Printed red-green-blue liquid crystal lasers

We present printable laser devices formed by dispersing dye-doped chiral nematic liquid crystals in solution-processible polymers. Unlike current technology, this allows lasers to be formed on a wide variety of surfaces, e.g. paper, plastic, metal. © OSA 2012.

Fabrication and Characterization of High Power InGaN Blue-Violet Lasers with an Array Structure

InGaN/GaN multi-quantum-well-structure laser diodes with an array structure are successfully fabricated on sapphire substrates. The laser diode consists of four emitter stripes which share common electrodes on one laser chip. An 800-mu m-long cavity is formed by cleaving the substrate along the < 1 (1) over bar 00 >. orientation using laser scriber. The threshold current and voltage of the laser array diode are 2A and 10.5 V, respectively. A light output peak power of 12W under pulsed current injection at room temperature is achieved. We simulate the electric properties of GaN based laser diode in a co-planar structure and the results show that minimizing the difference of distances between the different ridges and the n-electrode and increasing the electrical conductivity of the n-type GaN are two effective ways to improve the uniformity of carrier distribution in emitter stripes. Two pairs of emitters on a chip are arranged to be located near the two n-electrode pads on the left and right sides, and the four stripe emitters can laser together. The laser diode shows two sharp peaks of light output at 408 and 409 nm above the threshold current. The full widths at half maximum for the parallel and perpendicular far field patterns are 8 degrees and 32 degrees, respectively.

Phosphor-conversion white light using InGaN ultraviolet laser diode

We fabricated a phosphor-conversion white light using an InGaN laser diode that emits 405 nm near-ultraviolet (n-UV) light and phosphors that emit in the blue and yellow regions when excited by the n-UV and blue light, respectively.The relationship of the luminous flux and the luminous efficacy of the white light with injection current was discussed. The luminous flux increased linearly with increasing current above the threshold of the laser diode, and at 80 mA injection current, the luminous flux and luminous efficacy were estimated to be 5.7 lm and 13 lm/w, respectively. The shift of the Commission International de I'Eclairage coordinates, color temperature, and color rendering index with current are very slight and negligible, which indicates that the blue and the yellow phosphors have an excellent stability and a highly stable white light can be obtained by this way. (c) 2008 American Institute of Physics.

White light emission from ultraviolet laser diode

A phosphor-conversion white light using an InGaN laser diode that emits 405 nm near-ultraviolet (n-UV) light and phosphors that emit in the red/green/blue region when excited by the n-UV light was fabricated. The relationship of the luminous flux and the luminous efficacy of the white light with injection current were discussed. Based on the evaluation method for luminous efficacy of light sources established by the Commission International de I'Eclairage (CIE) and the phosphor used in this experiment, a theoretical analysis of the experiment results and the maximum luminous efficacy of this white light fabrication method were also presented.

Confinement factor and absorption loss of AlInGaN based laser diodes emitting from ultraviolet to green

Confinement factor and absorption loss of AlInGaN based multiquantum well laser diodes (LDs) were investigated by numerical simulation based on a two-dimensional waveguide model. The simulation results indicate that an increased ridge height of the waveguide structure can enhance the lateral optical confinement and reduce the threshold current. For 405 nm violet LDs, the effects of p-AlGaN cladding layer composition and thickness on confinement factor and absorption loss were analyzed. The experimental results are in good agreement with the simulation analysis. Compared to violet LD, the confinement factors of 450 nm blue LD and 530 nm green LD were much lower. Using InGaN as waveguide layers that has higher refractive index than GaN will effectively enhance the optical confinement for blue and green LDs. The LDs based on nonpolar substrate allow for thick well layers and will increase the confinement factor several times. Furthermore, the confinement factor is less sensitive to alloys composition of waveguide and cladding layers, being an advantage especially important for ultraviolet and green LDs.

Photochromic diarylethene for polarization holographic optical recording

Photochromic diarylethene, 1,2-bis[2-methyl-5-(3-fluorophenyl)-3-thienyl] perfluorocyleopentene (1a), was synthesized. The compound showed good photochromic reactions both in solution and in PMMA matrix by photo-irradiation. Using the diarylethene lb/PMMA film as recording medium and a He-Ne laser for recording and readout, four types of polarization holographic optical recording were accomplished for the first time. The results show that the orthogonal circular polarization recording is the best method for holographic optical recording when the target photochromic diarylethene is used as recording material. (c) 2006 Published by Elsevier B.V.

Dual-wavelength photochromic fulgides for parallel recording memory

Two photochromic fulgides, 2-{2-[4-(N,N-dimethylnilino)-5-methyl-4-oxazoly]}ethylidene-4-(1-methylethylidene) tetrahydrofuran-2,5-dione (A) and 3-(1,2-dimethyl-5-phenyl-3-pyrolloethylidene)-4-(1-methylethylidene)tetrahydrofuran-2,5-dione (B), doped in PMMA as candidates of dual-wavelength optical memory for parallel recording has been investigated. With 488 nm-laser and 650 nm-laser, both "cross" and "star" images are recorded on the fulgides-PMMA film and read out clearly, respectively. Crosstalk between two fulgides in PMMA matrix and nondestructive readout has also been explored. The results show that no significant cross-talk is detected between them, and nondestructive readout is up to 201 times. (C) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Generation of the high efficiency high peak-power femtosecond blue optical pulse

The analysis and calculation of the compensation for the phase mismatch of the frequency-doubling using the frequency space chirp introduced from prisms are made. The result shows that suitable lens can compensate the phase mismatch in a certain extent resulting from wide femtosecond spectrum when the spectrum is space chirped. By means of this method, the experiment of second harmonic generation is carried out using a home-made femtosecond KLM Ti:sapphire laser and BBO crystal. The conversion efficiency of SHG is 63 %. The average output power of blue light is 320 mW. The central wavelength is 420 nm. The spectrum bandwidth is 5.5 nm. It can sustain the pulse width of 33.6 fs. The tuning range of blue light is 404-420 nm,when the femtosecond Ti:sapphire optical pulse is tuned using the prisms in the cavity.

Polarization multiplexing holographic optical recording of a new photochromic diarylethene

A new unsymmetrical photochromic diarylethene 1a is synthesized, and the photochromic properties of it are also investigated. The compound exhibits good photochromism with UV/ visible light irradiation. Compound 1a in polymethyl methacrylate ( PMMA ) film changes color upon 313- nm light irradiation from colorless to blue, in which the absorption maximum is observed at 587 nm. Photon- mode polarization multiplexing holographic optical recording is performed successfully using this compound as a recording medium. In the diarylethene 1b/ PMMA film, polarization multiplexing hologram recording and retrieval, and a combination with the angular multiplexing scheme, are demonstrated systematically. The results indicate that recording capacity can be significantly improved with the combined method of polarization and angular multiplexing holographic recording. (C) 2008 Society of Photo- Optical Instrumentation Engineers.

High power red-light GaInP/AlGaInP laser diodes with nonabsorbing windows based on Zn diffusion-induced quantum well intermixing

The layer structure of GaInP/AlGaInP quantum well laser diodes (LDs) was grown on GaAs substrate using low-pressure metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (LP-MOCVD) technique. In order to improve the catastrophic optical damage (COD) level of devices, a nonabsorbing window (NAW), which was based on Zn diffusion-induced quantum well intermixing, was fabricated near the both ends of the cavities. Zn diffusions were respectively carried out at 480, 500, 520, 540, and 580 Celsius degree for 20 minutes. The largest energy blue shift of 189.1 meV was observed in the window regions at 580 Celsius degree. When the blue shift was 24.7 meV at 480 Celsius degree, the COD power for the window LD was 86.7% higher than the conventional LD.

Stimulated emission in the blue wavelength region from a copolymer containing PPV segment

The lasing properties of a soluble conjugated polymer, Poly[1,8-octanedioxy-2,6-dimethoxy-1,4-phenylene-1,2-ethenylene-1,2-phenylene-1,2-ethenylene-3,5-dimethoxy-1,4-phenylene] (CNMBC-Ph) in chloroform solution were investigated. The third harmonic radiation of a Nd:YAG laser was used as the pump light. The stimulated emission with a linewidth of 15 nm was observed in the blue wavelength region with the peak at 450 nm. The threshold pulse peak power was about 2.8 MW/cm(2). The energy conversion yield of the laser was estimated to be about 3.4%. The maximum peak power of the laser output pulse reached 40 kW. (C) 2000 Published by Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.

Stimulated emission in blue wavelength region from a copolymer

A dye laser based on the soluble conjugated polymer, Poly[1,8-octanedioxy-2,6-dimethoxy-1,4-phenylene-1,2-ethenylene-1, 4-phenylene-1,2-ethenylene-3,5-dimethoxy-1,4-phenylene], has been fabricated. The laser was pumped by light pulses from the third harmonic radiation of an Nd:YAG laser. The lasing was observed in the blue wavelength region with the peak at 450 nm. The threshold energy is about 19 mu J. The energy conversion yield of the laser is about 3.4%. The maximum peak power of the laser output pulse arrives at about 20 kW.

Low-level laser therapy and light-emitting diode effects in the secretion of neuropeptides SP and CGRP in rat skin

The phototherapy effects in the skin are related to biomodulation, usually to accelerate wound healing. However, there is no direct proof of the interrelation between the effects of low-level laser therapy (LLLT) and light-emitting diode (LED) in neuropeptide secretion, these substances being prematurely involved in the neurogenic inflammation phase of wound healing. This study therefore focused on investigating LLLT and LED in Calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) and substance P (SP) secretion in healthy rat skin. Forty rats were randomly distributed into five groups with eight rats each: Control Group, Blue LED Group (470 nm, 350 mW power), Red LED Group (660 nm, 350 mW power), Red Laser Group (660 nm, 100 mW power), and Infrared Laser Group (808 nm, 100 mW power) (DMCA (R) Equipamentos Ltda., So Carlos, So Paulo, Brazil). the skin of the animals in the experimental groups was irradiated using the punctual contact technique, with a total energy of 40 J, single dose, standardized at one point in the dorsal region. After 14 min of irradiation, the skin samples were collected for CGRP and SP quantification using western blot analysis. SP was released in Infrared Laser Group (p = 0.01); there was no difference in the CGRP secretion among groups. Infrared (808 nm) LLLT enhances neuropeptide SP secretion in healthy rat skin.

Fiber-Optic Ring-Down Spectroscopy Using a Tunable Picosecond Gain-Switched Diode Laser

Visible and near-infrared laser light pulses were coupled into two different types of optical fiber cavities. One cavity consisted of a short strand of fiber waveguide that contained two identical fiber Bragg gratings. Another cavity was made using a loop of optical fiber. In either cavity ∼ 40 ps laser pulses, which were generated using a custom-built gainswitched diode laser, circulated for a large number of round trips. The optical loss of either cavity was determined from the ring-down times. Cavity ring-down spectroscopy was performed on 200 pL volumes of liquid samples that were injected into the cavities using a 100 μm gap in the fiber loop. A detection limit of 20 ppm of methylene blue dye in aqueous solution, corresponding to a minimum absorptivity of εC < 6 cm−1, was realized.

A technique for mapping three-dimensional number densities of species in laser produced plumes

The potential of a diagnostic technique to provide quantitative three-dimensional (3D) density distributions of species in a low temperature laser-produced plume is shown. An expanded, short pulse, tunable dye laser is used to probe the plume at a set time during the expansion. Simultaneous recording of two-dimensional in-line absorbance maps and orthogonal recording of laser induced fluorescence permits the 3D density mapping by scanning the dye laser frequency. Preliminary data, supported by a simple model, is presented for the case of Ba II ions in a YBCO plume heated by a KrF laser. (C) 1996 American Institute of Physics.