Low threshold random lasing actions in natural biological membranes

Abstract

We report random lasing actions stemming from natural biological membranes doped with Rhodamine 6G (Rh6G) laser dye which were then stimulated by a pulsed laser. The membranes have concave–convex structures and are expected to form resonators for weak light scatterings. The laser emission varies with the type of membrane and is also closely related to the dye concentration and pump energy. The threshold for the laser generation obviously rises when the concentration of doped laser dye is increased. The simulation results show lasing distributions are localized, indicating that the laser modes are very sensitive to the indicant angles of pump light.