Lasing properties from dye-doped holographic polymer dispersed liquid crystal confined in two-dimensional cylindrical geometry

In this paper, we investigate the lasing behavior of holographic polymer dispersed liquid crystals (H-PDLCs) filled in capillary tubes (CTs). The emission properties from CTs with various core diameters are explored experimentally. The experimental results show that the smallest threshold is 19.4 mu J/pulse in CTs III (300 mu m) corresponding to the largest FWHM 0.42 nm. The minimum FWHM is 0.29 nm in CTs I (75 mu m) corresponding to largest threshold 31.5 mu J/pulse. According to experimental results and theoretical analysis, the different lasing behaviors from various core diameters of CTs are mainly due to the effect of phase separation between LC-rich and polymer-rich area during exposure. The temperature effects on lasing properties of H-PDLC in CTs were also investigated. Our work verifies the possibility to achieve miniature laser devices in cylindrical confinement structures, such as CT, hollow-fiber or photonic crystal fiber, and extends the applicable scope of H-PDLC. (C) 2016 Optical Society of America