We present the design and operation of low-threshold and widely tunable polymer-based nanofluidic distributed feedback (DFB) dye lasers. The devices rely on light-confinement in a nanostructured polymer film embedded between two substrates. An array of nanofluidic channels forms a Bragg grating DFB laser resonator relying on the third order Bragg reflection. The lasers are fabricated by Combined Electron beam and UV Lithography (CEUL) in a thin film of SU-8 resist and polymer mediated wafer bonding. The devices are operated without the need for external fluidic handling apparatus. Capillary action drives the liquid dye infiltration of the nanofluidic DFB lasers and accounts for dye replenishment. The low Bragg reflection order yields: (i) low out-of-plane scattering losses, (ii) low coupling losses for the light when traversing the dye-filled nanofluidic channels due to the sub-wavelength dimensions of the resonator segments, and (iii) a large free spectral range (FSR). Points (i)+(ii) enable a low threshold for lasing, point (iii) facilitates wavelength tuning over the full gain spectrum of the chosen laser dye without mode-hopping. By combining different grating periods and dye solution refractive indices, we demonstrate a tuning range of 45 nm using a single laser dye and obtain laser threshold fluences down to ~ 7 μJ/mm². The lasers are straightforward to integrate on lab-on-a-chip microsystems, e.g. for novel sensor concepts, where coherent light in the visible range is desired.

Date Published: 11 September 2007
PDF: 9 pages
Proc. SPIE 6645, Nanoengineering: Fabrication, Properties, Optics, and Devices IV, 66451I (11 September 2007); doi: 10.1117/12.733056

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 6645:
Nanoengineering: Fabrication, Properties, Optics, and Devices IV
Elizabeth A. Dobisz; Louay A. Eldada, Editor(s)