Abstract
This article describes the random lasing (RL) phenomenon obtained in a dye-doped, polymeric double-phase system composed of PMMA and PVK polymers. It shows how relative concentrations between mentioned macromolecules can influence lasing parameters of the resulting blends, including obtained emission spectra and threshold conditions. We describe the influence of lasers’ composition on their morphologies and link them with particular RL properties. Our studies reveal that the disorder caused by phase separation can support the RL phenomenon both in the waveguiding and quasi-waveguiding regimes. Changing the relative concentration of polymers enables one to switch between both regimes, which significantly influences threshold conditions, spectral shift, number of lasing modes, and ability to support extended and/or localized modes. Finally, we show that a simple phase separation technique can be used to fabricate efficient materials for RL. Moreover, it enables the tailoring of lasing properties of materials in a relatively wide range at the stage of the laser material fabrication process in a simple way. Therefore, this technique can be seen as a fast, cheap, and easy to perform way of random lasers fabrication.
Highlights
For the PVK concentrations equal to 75% and higher, the dominating phase is PVK rich phase, while small poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) rich areas are visible as holes in polymeric blends
To the best of our knowledge, the results of the research presented here are the first ones that concerned a wide range of relative concentrations of double-phase system components (PVK and PMMA) influence on the optically pumped random lasing (RL) occurrence
We have demonstrated that the RL phenomenon can be achievable when waveguiding conditions are met
Summary
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Mixing different polymers into one bulky material is a strategy that allows the design of novel types of media that will gain new physical properties or functionalities. Contrary to the chemical synthesis, which aims to develop entirely new compounds, the mentioned approach utilizes already known components. The drawback of this attempt is that most polymers are not miscible in each other, and they frequently form multi-phase systems. For some applications, the consequences coming from phase separation might be very beneficial
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