Two-photon-induced polymerization in a laser gain medium for optical microstructure

Abstract

We have fabricated a polymeric solid-state microcavity in the laser gain media by a two-photon-induced polymerization technique. The photopolymerization resin contains conventional laser dye and dendrimer. A dendrimer can encapsulate the laser dye, and therefore increase its concentration up to 4 wt % with limited energy transfer during the photopolymerization process. The microcavity consisted of <0.4 μm linewidth polymerized strips arranged in layer-by-layer structure. The periodic variation in the refractive index gave rise to Bragg reflection. A laser emission was measured in the microcavity under optical excitation. The spectral linewidth was about 0.15 nm above the lasing threshold. The laser emission is attributed both to the distributed Bragg reflection and to the high gain of a polymeric medium containing laser dye with a high concentration.