Abstract
FOLLOWING the discovery1 of electroluminescence in poly(p-phenylenevinylene) (PPV), considerable effort has been directed towards the realization of optoelectronic devices based on semiconducting conjugated polymers of this type2–6. But the viability of these materials for such applications depends critically on the nature of the photoexcited states—in particular, whether they are predominantly non-emitting interchain species7–9 or emitting intrachain species10. One way to study this fundamental issue is in a device structure known as a microcavity11, which offers the possibility of using quantum electrodynamic effects to alter (and hence probe the nature of) spontaneous and stimulated emission in these materials12–17. Here we make use of such a structure to demonstrate optically driven laser activity in devices based on solid films of PPV. This demonstration of lasing provides direct support for a model10 in which the main photoexcitation in PPV is an emissive intrachain species, and opens the possibility of electrically driven polymer-based lasers.
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Tessler, N., Denton, G. & Friend, R. Lasing from conjugated-polymer microcavities. Nature 382, 695–697 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1038/382695a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/382695a0
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