Distributed feedback ridge waveguide lasers fabricated by nanoscale printing and molding on nonplanar substrates

This letter describes the use of printing and molding techniques to fabrica te plastic photopumped laser that use distributed feedback resonators on ri dge waveguides. The results indicate (i) potential optoelectronic applicati ons of a set of emerging low cost lithographic techniques that can pattern a range of materials with submicron resolution on nonplanar substrates, (ii ) a new type of plastic laser based on molded organic gain materials, and ( iii) that thresholds of plastic distributed feedback ridge waveguide lasers are similar to their planar counterparts. (C) 1999 American Institute of P hysics. [S0003-6951(99)00522-7].