2018/06/08 by Alasdair H. Fikouras, Marcel Schubert, Markus Karl +5 · 1 citation
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · Materials Science · Physics and Astronomy · #Advanced Fluorescence Microscopy Techniques #Quantum Dots Synthesis And Properties #Silicon Nanostructures and Photoluminescence #physics.bio-ph #physics.optics
paper · pdf · doi:10.1038/s41467-018-07248-0
Comments: 15 pages, 5 figures
arxiv created 2018/06/08 · openalex created_date 2018/06/13 · openalex publication_date 2018/11/12 · arxiv updated 2019/03/06 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/04
Nanophotonic objects like plasmonic nanoparticles and colloidal quantum dots can complement the functionality of molecular dyes in biomedical optics. However, their operation is usually governed by spontaneous processes, which results in broad spectral features and limited signal-to-noise ratio, thus restricting opportunities for spectral multiplexing and sensing. Lasers provide the ultimate spectral definition and background suppression, and their integration with cells has recently been demonstrated. However, laser size and threshold remain problematic. Here, we report on the design, high-throughput fabrication and intracellular integration of semiconductor nanodisk lasers. By exploiting the large optical gain and high refractive index of GaInP/AlGaInP quantum wells, we obtain lasers with volumes 1000-fold smaller than the eukaryotic nucleus (Vlaser<0.1 μm3), lasing thresholds 500-fold below the pulse energies typically used in two-photon microscopy (Eth ≈ 0.13 pJ), and excellent spectral stability (<50 pm wavelength shift). Multiplexed labelling with these lasers allows cells-tracking through micro-pores, thus providing a powerful tool to study cell migration and cancer invasion.