Random laser action from flexible biocellulose-based device

Abstract

We demonstrate random lasing action in flexible bacterial cellulose (BC) membrane containing a laser-dye and either dielectric or metallic nanoparticles (NPs). The novel random laser system consists of BC nanofibers attached with Rhodamine 6G molecules and having incorporated either silica or silver NPs. The laser action was obtained by excitation of the samples with a 6 ns pulsed laser at 532 nm. Minimum laser threshold of ≈0.7 mJ/pulse was measured for the samples with silica NPs, whereas a laser threshold of 2.5 mJ/pulse for a system based on silver NPs was obtained. In both cases a linewidth narrowing from ≈50 to ≈4 nm was observed. Potential applications in biophotonics and life sciences are discussed for this proof-of-concept device. © 2014 AIP Publishing LLC.