Enhancement of random lasing based on the composite consisting of nanospheres embedded in nanorods template.

A simple and general approach has been developed for the enhancement of random lasing based on the composite consisting of nanospheres and nanorods array. Due to the inherent nature of high refractive index, the selected nanorods act efficiently as scattering feedback centers, which can promote the formation of closed loop paths of the emission arising from nanospheres. To illustrate our working principle, the composite consisting of Tb(OH)(3)/SiO2 nanospheres and ZnO nanorods was chosen as an example. Quite interestingly, it is found that the random lasing behavior can be easily achieved for the composite system, while it is absent in pure Tb(OH)(3)/SiO2 nanospheres. The strategy demonstrated here should be very useful for the future development of coherent light emission sources and many other optoelectronic devices. (C) 2009 Optical Society of America