Amplified Spontaneous Emission of Organic Pyridinium Dye doped Polymeric Waveguide

An organic dye salt trans-4-p-(N-hydroxyethyl-N-methylamino)styryl-N-methylpyridinium iodide (ASPI) is doped with an electron transport organic molecule tris(8-hydroxyquinoline) aluminium (Alq3) in a host matrix of poly(methylmethacrylate) (PMMA), and the amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) is studied. By efficient Forster energy transfer from Alq3 to ASPI, it is demonstrated that the ASE threshold of ASPI:Alq3:PMMA waveguide (about 11μJ/pulse) is much lower than that of ASPI:PMMA system (about 38μJ/pulse). Meanwhile, the peak position of ASE can be controlled by the effect of film thickness on waveguide modes. We show that the ASE peak position can be tuned over 37nm. These characteristics indicate the ASPI:Alq3 system as a promising gain medium for optical amplifiers and organic semiconductor lasers.