Light controllable tuning and switching of lasing in chiral liquid crystals

Abstract

A new approach based on the use of cholesteric liquid crystals (CLCs) and dye-doped light-sensitive chiral dopants was employed to create lasing materials with reversible tuning and switching. The lasing wavelength of optically-pumped dye-doped cholesteric liquid crystals (CLCs) is shifted by irradiation with UV light. The shift depends on the UV light exposure. Lasing is switched off at high levels of UV light irradiation. A qualitative model describing different lasing regimes is proposed.