Continuous-wave upconverting nanoparticle microlasers

Reducing the size of lasers to microscale dimensions enables new technologies(1) that are specifically tailored for operation in confined spaces ranging from ultra-high-speed microprocessors(2) to live brain tissue(3). However, reduced cavity sizes increase optical losses and require greater input powers to reach lasing thresholds. Multiphoton-pumped lasers(4-7) that have been miniaturized using nanomaterials such as lanthanide-doped upconverting nanoparticles (UCNPs)(8) as lasing media require high pump intensities to achieve ultraviolet and visible emission and therefore operate under pulsed excitation schemes. Here, we make use of the recently described energy-looping excitation mechanism in Tm3+-doped UCNPs(9) to achieve continuous-wave upconverted lasing action in stand-alone microcavities at excitation fluences as low as 14 kW cm(-2). Continuous-wave lasing is uninterrupted, maximizing signal and enabling modulation of optical interactions(10). By coupling energy-looping nanoparticles to whispering-gallery modes of polystyrene microspheres, we induce stable lasing for more than 5 h at blue and near-infrared wavelengths simultaneously. These microcavities are excited in the biologically transmissive second near-infrared (NIR-II) window and are small enough to be embedded in organisms, tissues or devices. The ability to produce continuous-wave lasing in microcavities immersed in blood serum highlights practical applications of these microscale lasers for sensing and illumination in complex biological environments.