Optofluidic ring resonator dye lasers

Abstract

We overview the recent progress on optofluidic ring resonator (OFRR) dye lasers developed in our research group. The fluidics and laser cavity design can be divided into three categories: capillary optofluidic ring resonator (COFRR), integrated cylindrical optofluidic ring resonator (ICOFRR), and coupled optofluidic ring resonator (CpOFRR). The COFRR dye laser is based on a micro-sized glass capillary with a wall thickness of a few micrometers. The capillary circular cross-section forms the ring resonator and supports the whispering gallery modes (WGMs) that interact evanescently with the gain medium in the core. The laser cavity structure is versatile to adapt to the gain medium of any refractive index. Owing to the high Q-factor (>10⁹), the lasing threshold of 25 nJ/mm² is achieved. Besides directly pump the dye molecules, lasing through fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) between the donor and acceptor dye molecules is also studied in COFRR laser. The energy transfer process can be further controlled by designed DNA scaffold labeled with donor/acceptor molecules. The ICOFRR dye laser is based on a cylindrical ring resonator fused onto the inner surface of a thick walled glass capillary. The structure has robust mechanical strength to sustain rapid gain medium circulation. The CpOFRR utilizes a cylindrical ring resonator fused on the inner surface of the COFRR capillary. Since the capillary wall is thin, the individual WGMs of the cylindrical ring resonator and the COFRR couples strongly and forms Vernier effect, which provides a way to generate a single mode dye laser.