Laser emission at 0.8 μm from photopumped luminescent polymer microresonators

We present the results of a study on laser emission from luminescent polymer microresonators containing a near-infrared emitting dye, 2-(6-(4-dimethylaminophenyl)-2,4-neopentylene-1,3,5-hexatrienyl)-3-methyl-benzothiazolium perchlorat. Poly(1-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone) microrings doped with the dye are fabricated around a 200-mu m-diameter silica optical fiber by self-assembly and are shown to lase at around 835 nm under nanosecond photopumping at 532 nm. The threshold for lasing is found to be 311 +/- 87 mu J/cm(2) (62.2 +/- 17.3 kW/cm(2)). The lower limit of the cavity quality factor is estimated to be 1.8x10(3). (c) 2006 American Institute of Physics.