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Fluorescence and Lasing in Dye-doped and Conjugated Polymer Microspheres
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- Author / Creator
- Gardner, Kirsty A
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This thesis explores the optical and microstructural properties of fluorescent and lasing polymer microspheres, as well as methods for their fabrication and size control. I investigate the fluorescent and lasing behaviour of polymer-coated glass microspheres by a combination of evanescent coupling, and fluorescence and lasing measurements. Coated glass microspheres lack perfect spherical symmetry and have a dense forest of resonances such that lasing preferentially occurs where these modes are most densely spaced within the gain band of the lasing medium. Next, I discuss the benefits of conjugated polymers (CPs) over dye-doped polymers before demonstrating a fabrication method which produces large CP microspheres (up to 50 times larger than those produced by other methods) and which are 20 times brighter than conventional dye-doped microspheres. Finally I develop a simple microfluidics fabrication method which enables good size control, from which arrays of monodisperse microspheres were synthesised from three different CPs (red, green and blue emitters, i.e., across the visible spectrum). The molecular weight of the CP as well as the choice of solvent and surfactant are shown to be important parameters in obtaining large (>5 microns) and relatively well formed microspheres. Conjugated polymer microspheres will be shown to have several advantages over conventional dye-doped particles for applications requiring a high emission intensity.
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- Subjects / Keywords
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- Graduation date
- Fall 2020
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- Type of Item
- Thesis
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- Degree
- Doctor of Philosophy
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- License
- Permission is hereby granted to the University of Alberta Libraries to reproduce single copies of this thesis and to lend or sell such copies for private, scholarly or scientific research purposes only. Where the thesis is converted to, or otherwise made available in digital form, the University of Alberta will advise potential users of the thesis of these terms. The author reserves all other publication and other rights in association with the copyright in the thesis and, except as herein before provided, neither the thesis nor any substantial portion thereof may be printed or otherwise reproduced in any material form whatsoever without the author's prior written permission.