Super-Wide Temperature Lasers Spanning from -180 to 240 °C Based on Fully-Polymerized Blue Phase Superstructures.

Abstract

Blue phase liquid crystal (BPLC) lasers have potential applications in displays, sensors, and anti-counterfeiting fields owing to their outstanding optical properties. However, there remain challenges on lasing below 0 °C, which significantly limits the potential application of BPLC lasers in low-temperature environments. In this work, BPLC lasing below 0 °C is realized for the first time in a super-wide temperature range of -180-240 °C using a well-designed fully-polymerized BPLC system with a narrow line width of 0.0881 nm and a low lasing threshold of 37 nJ pulse^-1. This fully-polymerized BPLC both effectively avoids low-temperature random crystallization and has excellent compatibility with dye molecules that significantly widen the lasing temperature range below 0 °C. Besides, the variations of laser peak and threshold are also revealed below 0 °C, that is, redshifted laser wavelength and increased threshold value with decreasing temperature, which contribute to a blue-shifted laser signal and a U-shaped lasing threshold in -180-240 °C. These unique laser behaviors can be ascribed to the temperature-dependent anisotropically microstructural deformation of the BP lattice. This work not only opens a door to the development of low-temperature BPLC lasers but also sets out important insights in the design of novel organic optical devices.