Amplified spontaneous emission from metal-backed poly2-methoxy-5-(2'-ethylhexyloxy)-1, 4-phenylenevinylene film

We investigate the amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) from an Ag-backed poly2-methoxy-5-(2'-ethylhexyloxy)-1,4-phenylenevinylene (MEH-PPV) film with different film thicknesses. The ASE characteristics of Ag-backed MEH-PPV films with different thicknesses show that increasing the film thickness can reduce the influence of the Ag cladding. The threshold, the gain, and the loss of the device with a thickness of 170 nm are comparable to those of a metal-free device. The lasing threshold of this device is about 7.5 times that of a metal-free device. Our findings demonstrate that Ag-backed MEH-PPV film with an appropriate thickness can still be a good polymer gain material for the fabrication of solid-state lasers.