Opto-fluidic third order distributed feed-back dye laser

This letter describes the design and operation of a polymer-based third order distributed feed-back (DFB) microfluidic dye laser. The device relies on light-confinement in a nano-structured polymer film where an array of nanofluidic channels is filled by capillary action with a liquid dye solution which has a refractive index lower than that of the polymer. In combination with a third order DFB grating, formed by the array of nanofluidic channels, this yields a low threshold for lasing. The laser is straight-forward to integrate on Lab-on-a-Chip micro-systems where coherent, tunable light in the visible range is desired.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure

Bleaching and diffusion dynamics in optofluidic dye lasers

We have investigated the bleaching dynamics that occur in optofluidic dye lasers where the liquid laser dye in a microfluidic channel is locally bleached due to optical pumping. We find that for microfluidic devices, the dye bleaching may be compensated through diffusion of dye molecules alone. By relying on diffusion rather than convection to generate the necessary dye replenishment, our observation potentially allows for a significant simplification of optofluidic dye laser device layouts, omitting the need for cumbersome and costly external fluidic handling or on-chip microfluidic pumping devices.Comment: 3 pages including 3 figures. Accepted for AP