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Random lasers

Resonance control

Nature Photonics volume 2, pages 397–398 (2008)Cite this article

Random lasers do not have mirrors or optical elements. They often lack a well-defined shape or size, and their emission wavelength is difficult to tune. Now it is shown that the optical resonances in an ensemble of microspheres can provide the crucial element of control.

Random lasers are unique sources of stimulated emission in which the feedback is provided by light scattering in a gain medium1 rather than a cavity, as in conventional lasers. Random lasers have been demonstrated in a variety of materials, including liquid dyes, polymers, semiconductors and dielectric crystals, and their potential applications range from medicine to laser fusion1. In all previously reported structures, the scattering spectrum was nearly flat within the gain band of the active medium, and lasing occurred at a wavelength coinciding with the maximum of the gain band. On page 429 of this issue2, Gottardo et al. report a random laser in a system with a spectrally varying scattering coefficient determined by Mie resonances in monodisperse polystyrene microspheres — a solid random system dubbed by the researchers as 'photonic glass'. The wavelength in such a random laser can be tuned by changing the index of refraction or the diameter of the microspheres. This pioneering work paves the way to a new generation of random photonic devices with custom-tailored scattering cross-section spectra.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. M. A. Noginov is at the Center for Materials Research, Norfolk State University, Norfolk, Virginia 23504, USA. mnoginov@nsu.edu,

    M. A. Noginov

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  1. M. A. Noginov
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Noginov, M. Resonance control. Nature Photon 2, 397–398 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/nphoton.2008.114

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nphoton.2008.114

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