Flexible random laser with high optical stability in dye-doped SiC nanowires

Abstract

Flexible random laser has potential applications in the areas of biosensing, display imaging, and micro-illumination due to their simple production, flexibility and small size. However, the variation of random laser properties during bending and stretching is not conducive to the integration and application in optoelectronic devices. It is still a pressing problem to obtain a flexible random laser with high stability, high brightness and low loss. Here, a flexible dye-doped random laser with high stability is created using silicon carbide (SiC) nanowires as the scattering medium. To investigate and compare the random laser properties under various bending and stretching degrees, bending times, and pump times, the laser emission data were statistically evaluated and analyzed. The flexible laser property presents excellent optical stability in wavelength, emission intensity, and peak width by bending and stretching ranging from 0% to 30%. The laser samples can withstand at least 200 cycles of bending tests and 30 min of nonstop pumping excitation, proving the system's high repeatability and optical stability. The emission stability and system characterization are studied with a scattering density variation model. With random SiC nanowires as scatters, there is nearly no change in the scattering medium density, thus, the mean free path of photons is not altered, resulting in the stable emission property of the flexible random laser. This study provides a novel approach for developing integrated random laser applications and realizing flexible and stable random lasers in optics and optoelectronics.