Competitive excitation and osmotic-pressure-mediated control of lasing modes in cholesteric liquid crystal microshells.

We examined the end-pumped lasing behaviors of dye doped cholesteric liquid crystal (DDCLC) microshells which were fabricated by glass capillary microfluidics. Several kinds of mode resonances, including distributed feedback, Fabry–Pérot (FP), and whispering gallery (WG) modes, can be robustly constructed in each individual DDCLC microshell by varying the beam diameter, namely, tuning the DDCLC gain area. The FP and WG modes were further confirmed experimentally, and the corresponding lasing mechanisms are clearly revealed from the unique material characteristics of DDCLC and the geometrical structure of the microshell. Additionally, we demonstrated that the osmotic pressure can be used to shrink/expand the microshell, productively tuning the excitation of lasing modes in a controlled manner. We wish our findings can provide a new insight into the design of DDCLC microlasers with tunable optical properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]