Magnetic-field tuning of whispering gallery mode lasing from ferromagnetic nematic liquid crystal microdroplets

Abstract

We report magnetic field tuning of the structure and Whispering Gallery Mode lasing from ferromagnetic nematic liquid crystal micro-droplets. Microlasers were prepared by dispersing a nematic liquid crystal, containing magnetic nanoparticles and fluorescent dye, in a glycerol-lecithin matrix. The droplets exhibit radial director structure, which shows elastic distortion at a very low external magnetic field. The fluorescent dye doped ferromagnetic nematic droplets show Whispering Gallery Mode lasing, which is tunable by the external magnetic field. The tuning of the WGM lasing modes is linear in magnetic field with a wavelength-shift of the order of 1 nm/100 mT. Depending on the lasing geometry, the WGMs are red- or blue-shifted. 2017 Optical Society of America.