Waveguided nematic liquid crystal random lasers

Abstract

Abstract In waveguided nematic liquid crystal random lasers (NLCRLs), we realize polarized random laser (RL) emission and discover that the waveguide effect reduces the transmission loss of the RL whose polarization is parallel to the liquid crystal molecules (LCMs). Compared with the traditional liquid crystal random lasers, the waveguide NLCRLs can achieve the regulation of RLs strength, polarization, and wavelength in the same structure. The electric field can drive the rotation of LCMs to control the RL polarization and intensity. The drop of horizontal polarization laser and the increase of vertical polarization laser prove the role of the waveguide effect. In addition, the disorder of the waveguided NLCRLs is highly sensitive to temperature, which makes it easy to control the wavelength and intensity of the RL. As the temperature rises, the waveguide effect is weakened, resulting in a weakening of the restriction along liquid crystal (LC) cell normal direction. The reduced laser intensity verifies the role of the waveguide effect.