Thermal control band-edge lasing toward near IR from dye-doped cholesteric liquid crystal: Relatively stable operation at high temperatures.

The exceptional band-edge lasing from dye-doped cholesteric liquid crystals (DD-CLCs), which can be easily fabricated by blending chiral molecules with nematic liquid crystals, showcases versatile tuning possibilities. In this work, we employed (ISO-(6OBA) 2) with high helical twisting power (HTP) as the chiral molecule in the fabrication of DD-CLCs, ensuring superior tuning possibilities and operational stability at high temperatures. By thermally controlling DD-CLCs with a 5 wt% chiral molecule, the band-edge lasing peak exhibited a noticeable red shift with increasing temperature, demonstrating a tuning range of 106 nm as the temperature rose from 20 to 90 °C. In operation at 78 °C, the longest lasing peak of 692.7 nm was achieved from DD-CLCs with 4 wt% ISO-(6OBA) 2. Furthermore, the long-term stability of band-edge lasing from DD-CLCs was proven during a three-hour monitoring period at a high operating temperature above 50 °C. • First demonstration of band-edge lasing from DDCLCs using ISO-(6OBA)2 as the chiral molecule. • High-temperature operation of DDCLCs at 90 °C to produce band-edge lasing. • Tuning of the band-edge lasing peak by approximately 106 nm through thermal control of DDCLCs. • Three-hour stable operation of band-edge lasing in operation DDCLCs at 75 °C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]