Continuous-wave upconverting nanoparticle microlasers

Fernandez-Bravo, Angel; Yao, Kaiyuan; Barnard, Edward S.; Borys, Nicholas J.; Levy, Elizabeth S.; Tian, Bining; Tajon, Cheryl A.; Moretti, Luca; Altoe, M. Virginia; Aloni, Shaul; Beketayev, Kenes; Scotognella, Francesco; Cohen, Bruce E.; Chan, Emory M.; Schuck, P. James

doi:10.1038/s41565-018-0161-8

Continuous-wave upconverting nanoparticle microlasers

Journal Article · Mon Jun 18 00:00:00 EDT 2018 · Nature Nanotechnology

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41565-018-0161-8· OSTI ID:1579331

Fernandez-Bravo, Angel ^[1]; ^[2]; ^[1]; Borys, Nicholas J. ^[1]; Levy, Elizabeth S. ^[1]; Tian, Bining ^[1]; Tajon, Cheryl A. ^[1]; Moretti, Luca ^[3]; Altoe, M. Virginia ^[1]; Aloni, Shaul ^[1]; ^[4]; Scotognella, Francesco ^[5]; ^[1]; Chan, Emory M. ^[1]; Schuck, P. James ^[6]

Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States)
Politecnico di Milano (Italy)
National Lab. Astana (Kazakhstan)
Politecnico di Milano (Italy); Ist. Italiano di Tecnologia, Milan (Italy)
Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Columbia Univ., New York, NY (United States)

Reducing the size of lasers to microscale dimensions enables new technologies that are specifically tailored for operation in confined spaces ranging from ultra-high-speed microprocessors to live brain tissue. However, reduced cavity sizes increase optical losses and require greater input powers to reach lasing thresholds. Multiphoton-pumped lasers that have been miniaturized using nanomaterials such as lanthanide-doped upconverting nanoparticles (UCNPs) as lasing media require high pump intensities to achieve ultraviolet and visible emission and therefore operate under pulsed excitation schemes. Here, we make use of the recently described energy-looping excitation mechanism in Tm³⁺-doped UCNPs to achieve continuous-wave upconverted lasing action in stand-alone microcavities at excitation fluences as low as 14 kW cm^-2. Continuous-wave lasing is uninterrupted, maximizing signal and enabling modulation of optical interactions. By coupling energy-looping nanoparticles to whispering-gallery modes of polystyrene microspheres, we induce stable lasing for more than 5 h at blue and near-infrared wavelengths simultaneously. These microcavities are excited in the biologically transmissive second near-infrared (NIR-II) window and are small enough to be embedded in organisms, tissues or devices. The ability to produce continuous-wave lasing in microcavities immersed in blood serum highlights practical applications of these microscale lasers for sensing and illumination in complex biological environments.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES) (SC-22)

Grant/Contract Number:: AC02-05CH11231

OSTI ID:: 1579331

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 1574385

Journal Information:: Nature Nanotechnology, Journal Name: Nature Nanotechnology Journal Issue: 7 Vol. 13; ISSN 1748-3387

Publisher:: Nature Publishing GroupCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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