Spatial coherence of random laser emission

B. Redding; M. A. Choma; H. Cao

doi:10.1117/12.893091

12 September 2011 Spatial coherence of random laser emission

B. Redding, M. A. Choma, H. Cao

Proceedings Volume 8095, Active Photonic Materials IV; 80950P (2011) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.893091
Event: SPIE NanoScience + Engineering, 2011, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

Lasing action in disordered media has been studied extensively in recent years and many of its properties are well understood. However, few studies have considered the spatial coherence in these systems, despite initial observations indicating that random lasers exhibit much lower spatial coherence than conventional lasers. We performed a systematic, experimental investigation of the spatial coherence of random laser emission as a function of the scattering mean free path and the excitation volume. Lasing was achieved under optical excitation and spatial coherence was characterized by imaging the emission spot onto a Young's double slit and collecting the interference fringes in the far field. We observed dramatic differences in the spatial coherence within our parameter space. Specifically, we found that samples with a shorter mean free path relative to the excitation volume exhibited reduced spatial coherence. We provide a qualitative explanation of our experimental observations in terms of the number of excited modes and their spatial orientation. This work provides a means to realize intense, spatially incoherent laser emission for applications in which speckle or spatial cross talk limits performance.

Citation Download Citation

B. Redding, M. A. Choma, and H. Cao "Spatial coherence of random laser emission", Proc. SPIE 8095, Active Photonic Materials IV, 80950P (12 September 2011); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.893091

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