Search
Menu
Gentec Electro-Optics Inc   - Measure With Gentec Accuracy LB

Nanolaser Inspired by Nature Changes Colors Like a Chameleon

Facebook X LinkedIn Email
A new nanolaser, with a design inspired by nature, can change color using the same nanomechanics that a chameleon uses.

A chameleon changes color by controlling the spacing of nanocrystals on its skin. The nanolaser exploits periodic arrays of metal nanoparticles on a stretchable, polymer matrix in a similar way. As the matrix either stretches to pull the nanoparticles farther apart or contracts to push them closer together, the wavelength of the laser changes, which in turn changes the color of light it emits.

Novel nanolaser leverages the same color-changing mechanism that a chameleon uses to camouflage its skin. Courtesy of Egor Kamelev.

A new nanolaser leverages the same color-changing mechanism that a chameleon uses to camouflage its skin. Courtesy of Egor Kamelev.

“Hence, by stretching and releasing the elastomer substrate, we could select the emission color at will,” said Northwestern University professor Teri W. Odom.

The nanolaser preserves its high mode quality by using hybrid quadrupole plasmons as an optical feedback mechanism. By increasing the size of the metal nanoparticles in the array, researchers from Northwestern University introduced ultrasharp lattice plasmon resonances with out-of-plane charge oscillations that were tolerant to lateral strain.

Researchers performed semiquantum modeling to demonstrate that lasing buildup occurred at the hybrid quadrupole electromagnetic hot spots, to allow mechanical modulation of light-matter interactions on the nanoscale.

Novel nanolaser leverages the same color-changing mechanism that a chameleon uses to camouflage its skin. Courtesy of George Lebada.
Image courtesy of George Lebada.

By patterning the metal nanoparticles onto an elastomeric slab surrounded by liquid gain, researchers achieved reversible, tunable nanolasing with high strain sensitivity.

The nanolaser’s color-changing capabilities, along with these properties, could support advances in flexible optical displays in smartphones and televisions, wearable photonic devices, and ultrasensitive sensors that measure strain.

The research was published in Nano Letters (doi:10.1021/acs.nanolett.8b01774).
PI Physik Instrumente - Revolution In Photonics Align LW MR3/24

Published: June 2018
Glossary
nanotechnology
The use of atoms, molecules and molecular-scale structures to enhance existing technology and develop new materials and devices. The goal of this technology is to manipulate atomic and molecular particles to create devices that are thousands of times smaller and faster than those of the current microtechnologies.
nano
An SI prefix meaning one billionth (10-9). Nano can also be used to indicate the study of atoms, molecules and other structures and particles on the nanometer scale. Nano-optics (also referred to as nanophotonics), for example, is the study of how light and light-matter interactions behave on the nanometer scale. See nanophotonics.
Research & TechnologyeducationAmericasDisplaysLasersLight SourcesMaterialsplasmonsnanolasingnanotechnologyTunable Lasersnature-inspired opticsnanoTech Pulse

We use cookies to improve user experience and analyze our website traffic as stated in our Privacy Policy. By using this website, you agree to the use of cookies unless you have disabled them.