Issue 40, 2012

Dynamic photoswitching of micropatterned lasing in colloidal crystals by the photochromic reaction

Abstract

In this report, we successfully demonstrate the reversible photoswitching of micropatterned lasing in colloidal crystals (CCs) by the photochromic reaction. The CC-laser (CC-L) cavity proposed in this study consists of a photochromic light-emitting planar defect, containing both diarylethene and pyrromethene compounds, between a pair of CC films. Optical excitation of the CC-L cavity with a low threshold power gives rise to a single laser emission peak with a narrow spectral linewidth of 0.16 nm, which appears within the reflection wavelength range of CC films by the defect mode localized in the photonic band-gap (PBG). From a theoretical standpoint, such defect mode lasing is supported by numerical calculation on the basis of the scalar wave approximation (SWA) results of CC films. When the CC-L cavity is alternately irradiated with 313 nm and 530 nm light, the single laser emission peak is dynamically switched by the photochromic reaction of the diarylethene compound in the CC-L cavity. We can observe the high contrast micropatterned lasing images with a high resolution of only a few micrometers as the most interesting performance. Various micropatterned images of laser emission are reversibly erased and rewritten by alternating photoirradiation with 313 nm and 530 nm light through photomasks. We can envisage that unique photoswitchable lasers are realized by combining the photochromic light-emitting materials in various 1D-, 2D- and 3D-photonic crystal (PC) systems. This report provides new guidelines not only to realize the on-demand photocontrol of laser feedback effects by using photochromic compounds in a variety of PCs, but also to fabricate small-sized and high density all-optical photoswitching devices in next generation optoelectronics.

Graphical abstract: Dynamic photoswitching of micropatterned lasing in colloidal crystals by the photochromic reaction

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
19 Jul 2012
Accepted
28 Aug 2012
First published
29 Aug 2012

J. Mater. Chem., 2012,22, 21519-21528

Dynamic photoswitching of micropatterned lasing in colloidal crystals by the photochromic reaction

S. Furumi, H. Fudouzi and T. Sawada, J. Mater. Chem., 2012, 22, 21519 DOI: 10.1039/C2JM34747D

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