Rare earth doped PDMS elastomeric random lasers

Abstract

We report a very stable elastomeric random laser (SERL) system composed of two stable materials: inorganic Nd: YAB nanoparticles and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). Lasing at a wavelength of 1064.5 nm is observed when the samples are exposed to pulsed nanosecond excitation at 808 nm or 532 nm, with long term (days) operation without degradation. Contrary to other RLs based on polymers, this very stable RL is the first elastomeric system, hence tunable, which allows the systematic investigation of its dynamics over a long time, without the complication of gain reduction or deterioration of the polymer. The RL threshold is estimated to be around 1.0 mJ at 808 nm. The measured linewidth decreases from 3.2 nm to 0.5 nm. The spectral peak position as well as the intensity is conveniently tuned by stretching the elastomer polymer composite. As an application which requires long term operation, Levy-like statistics and replica symmetry breaking in this open cavity random laser were also demonstrated. These lasers have been used over several months without noticeable degradation.