A comparison of photonic band edge lasing in the chiral nematic N* and smectic C* phases

Alison D. Ford; Stephen M. Morris; Mikhail N. Pivnenko; Harry J. Coles

doi:10.1117/12.532178

28 May 2004 A comparison of photonic band edge lasing in the chiral nematic N* and smectic C* phases

Alison D. Ford, Stephen M. Morris, Mikhail N. Pivnenko, Harry J. Coles

Proceedings Volume 5289, Liquid Crystal Materials, Devices, and Applications X and Projection Displays X; (2004) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.532178
Event: Electronic Imaging 2004, 2004, San Jose, California, United States

Abstract

The lasing output characteristics of two different types of photonic band edge liquid crystal lasers have been investigated. The required helical structure or periodic change in the refractive index was realised by using either a chiral nematic or a chiral smectic C as the liquid crystal host. The fluorescent dye doped photonic band edge lasers exhibited very different emission characteristics. A Q-switched Nd:YAG pulsed laser, frequency doubled to 532nm with pulse lengths of 5ns was used to excite the samples. Typical laser parameters such as slope efficiency and input energy threshold values were examined for each laser and results indicated that the chiral smectic C laser was more efficient. We believe that the higher performance of the chiral smectic C laser is attributed to the increase in the degree of order of the host.

Citation Download Citation

Alison D. Ford, Stephen M. Morris, Mikhail N. Pivnenko, and Harry J. Coles "A comparison of photonic band edge lasing in the chiral nematic N* and smectic C* phases", Proc. SPIE 5289, Liquid Crystal Materials, Devices, and Applications X and Projection Displays X, (28 May 2004); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.532178

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