GOALI: Integrated versatile opto-fluidic ring resonator laser systems with ultralow threshold

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The objective of this proposal is to develop integrated opto-fluidic ring resonator (OFRR) lasers, including dye lasers, Raman lasers, and two-photon pumped dye lasers. The approach is to flow the laser gain medium through a thin-walled capillary that acts as both fluidics and a ring resonator. The laser emission will be out-coupled through a fiber in contact with the OFRR.The intellectual merits include: (1) The OFRR have extremely high Q-factors, resulting in a lasing threshold a few orders of magnitude lower than existing opto-fluidic lasers. (2) Due to high Q-factors, practically viable nonlinear opto-fluidic lasers such as Raman and two-photon pumped lasers can be realized. (3) The OFRR lasers are capable of accommodating liquid of any refractive index. (4) The lasing emission can be efficiently coupled into an optical fiber for easy light delivery. (5) The OFRR can be mass-produced with a fiber draw tower.The technology developed under this proposal will have broad applications in dynamically tunable opto-fluidic lasers, high-throughput micro-total analysis systems, optical signal processing, and laser metrology. It can also be applied to fundamental optics such as cavity-QED, thresholdless lasers, and nonlinear optics. The students in the project will acquire interdisciplinary knowledge and skills in photonics, microfluidics, microfabrication, and chemistry. The 6-month internship at OFS will further help them learn cutting-edge research and development in industry. This project will not only allow OFS to access PI?s well-established OFRR lab, but also enable the PI to capitalize on the world-renowned fiber fabrication capability of OFS.