Improved lasing action from dye doped SU8 films exploiting biologically derived nanostructures

In this paper we explore whether these biologically derived nanostructures can be utilised to form the resonator structures of organic dye doped thin film polymer lasers, presents a photograph of the cicada from which the nanostructures have been derived. The paper presents an SEM micrograph of the structures present on the wings of this insect. The structure consists of cylinders which have a centre-to-centre separation of approximately 200 nm, and a height in excess of 300 nm. The structure is roughly hexagonal and is reminiscent of an inverse photonic crystal suggesting that it may be harnessed as the resonator structure for a thin film laser.