Several recent publications have reported phenomena such as superluminescence and amplified spontaneous emission in polymeric organic light emitters such as conjugated polymers. (N. Tessler et al., Nature 382, 695 (1996); F. Hide et al., Science 273, 1833 (1996), both of which are incorporated herein by reference). The materials used in those emitters were spin-coated from a solution of the polymer or its chemical precursors. Optically pumped, stimulated emission from organic laser dyes, introduced into inert, spin-coated polymers or gels has been described in the literature. (R. E. Hermes, et al., Appl. Phys. Lett. 63, 877 (1993); M. N. Weiss et al., Appl. Phys. Lett. 69, 3653 (1996); H. Kogelnik et al., Appl. Phys. Lett. 18, 152 (1971); M. Canva et al., Appl. Opt., 34, 428 (1995), each of which is incorporated herein by reference).
When compared with other electrolumninescent materials, however, spun-on polymeric materials do not exhibit particularly good thickness uniformity, ability to achieve extremely high materials purity, operating lifetimes, and ease of integration with other conventional semiconductor fabrication processes. In the field of organic light emitting devices (OLEDs) for flat panel display applications, for example, small molecule OLEDs currently offer better operating lifetimes by an order of magnitude over their spin-coated, polymeric analogs. (L. J. Rothberg et al., "Status of and Prospects for Organic Electroluminescence", J. Mater. Res. 1996, 11:3174; N. C. Greenham et al., "Semiconductor Physics of Conjugated Polymers", Solid State Physics 1995, 49:1, both of which are incorporated herein by reference).
There is much recent interest in lasing action and stimulated emission in thin films of small molecular weight organic semiconductors and polymers as organic semiconductor lasers ("OSLs"). The low cost of organic materials and ability to grow them as quasi- and non-epitaxial thin films facilitates integration of OSLs with other optoelectronic devices, making them attractive for a number of applications. The particular optical and electronic properties of organic semiconductors result in OSL performance that is significantly more temperature stable than conventional inorganic laser diodes, a potential advantage in optical communications and sensor applications. For example, the lasing action in optically-pumped slab waveguide structures of vacuum-deposited thin films of small molecular weight organic semiconductors has been recently demonstrated. (See V. G. Kozlov et al., Conf on Lasers and Electro-optics CLEO '97, CPD-18, Opt. Soc. Am., Baltimore, Md., May 1997, incorporated herein by reference). The output power, differential quantum efficiency, and emission wavelength of these organic semiconductor lasers (OSLs) were found to be significantly more stable to changes in temperature than conventional inorganic laser diodes. This benefit of organic laser structures combined with the inherent advantages of organic semiconductors such as low cost, quasi- and non-epitaxial growth (S. R. Forrest et al., Phys. Rev. B 49, 11309 (1994), incorporated herein by reference), and ease of integration with other optoelectronic devices, provides strong motivation for further research. Presently, there is an interest in the development of OSL structures that result in desired OSL properties svch as narrow bandwidth emission, the minimal use of active organic materials, and the facilitation of wavelength tuning and electrical pumping.