Zhiyi Yuan - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
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Papers by Zhiyi Yuan
Advanced Photonics, 2021
Liquid droplets offer a great number of opportunities in biochemical and physical research studie... more Liquid droplets offer a great number of opportunities in biochemical and physical research studies in which droplet-based microlasers have come into play over the past decade. While the recent emergence of droplet lasers has demonstrated their powerful capabilities in amplifying subtle molecular changes inside the cavity, the optical interactions between droplet resonators and an interface remain unclear. We revealed the underlying mechanism of droplet lasers when interacting with a droplet-solid interface and explored its correlation with intermolecular forces. A vertically oriented oscillation mode-arc-like mode-was discovered, where the number of lasing modes and their Q-factors increase with the strength of interfacial hydrophobicity. Both experimental and theoretical results demonstrated that hydrophobicity characterized by contact angle and interfacial tension plays a significant role in the geometry of droplet cavity and laser mode characteristics. Finally, we demonstrated how tiny forces induced by proteins and peptides could strongly modulate the lasing output in droplet resonators. Our findings illustrate the potential of exploiting optical resonators to amplify intermolecular force changes, providing comprehensive insights into lasing actions modulated by interfaces and applications in biophysics.
Laser & Photonics Reviews, 2021
Solar light is recognized as one of the most valuable sustainable energy sources of the future. F... more Solar light is recognized as one of the most valuable sustainable energy sources of the future. Finding solutions to enhance energy‐conversion efficiency is of paramount significance for realizing more efficient photovoltaic and photocatalytic devices. Remarkable development in chemical and physical strategies has been explored to increase the optical‐absorption coefficients, extend the spectral range, and optimize the light‐harvesting and conversion efficiency. Optical resonators, which play a ubiquitous role in modern optics, possess the unique ability to provide strong optical confinement and enormous light‐matter interactions. Such features have attracted tremendous attention in photoelectric enhancement and applications in photovoltaic, photocatalysis, and even light‐emitting devices recently. This review presents theoretical as well as experimental progress on enhanced photovoltaic and photocatalysis by exploiting optical resonators. Fundamentals of various optical cavities ar...
Nanoscale Imaging, Sensing, and Actuation for Biomedical Applications XVIII, 2021
Microlasers have emerged as a promising approach for the detection or identification of different... more Microlasers have emerged as a promising approach for the detection or identification of different biomolecules. Most lasers were designed to reflect changes of molecular concentration within the cavity, without being able to characterize biophysical changes in the gain medium. Here, we report a strategy to extract and amplify polarized laser emissions from small molecules and demonstrate how molecular rotation interplays with lasing at the nanoscale. The concept of molecular lasing polarization was proposed and was first evidenced to increase accordingly as the fluorophore binds to larger biomolecules in a microcavity. By detecting the molecular rotational correlation time through stimulated emission, small molecules could be distinguished while conventional fluorescence polarization cannot. Theoretical models were developed to elucidate the underlying mechanisms. Finally, different types of small molecules were analyzed by adopting a Fabry-Pérot optofluidic laser. The results suggest an entirely new tool to quantify small molecules and guidance for laser emissions to characterize biophysical properties down to the molecular level.
Advanced Photonics, 2021
Liquid droplets offer a great number of opportunities in biochemical and physical research studie... more Liquid droplets offer a great number of opportunities in biochemical and physical research studies in which droplet-based microlasers have come into play over the past decade. While the recent emergence of droplet lasers has demonstrated their powerful capabilities in amplifying subtle molecular changes inside the cavity, the optical interactions between droplet resonators and an interface remain unclear. We revealed the underlying mechanism of droplet lasers when interacting with a droplet-solid interface and explored its correlation with intermolecular forces. A vertically oriented oscillation mode-arc-like mode-was discovered, where the number of lasing modes and their Q-factors increase with the strength of interfacial hydrophobicity. Both experimental and theoretical results demonstrated that hydrophobicity characterized by contact angle and interfacial tension plays a significant role in the geometry of droplet cavity and laser mode characteristics. Finally, we demonstrated how tiny forces induced by proteins and peptides could strongly modulate the lasing output in droplet resonators. Our findings illustrate the potential of exploiting optical resonators to amplify intermolecular force changes, providing comprehensive insights into lasing actions modulated by interfaces and applications in biophysics.
Laser & Photonics Reviews, 2021
Solar light is recognized as one of the most valuable sustainable energy sources of the future. F... more Solar light is recognized as one of the most valuable sustainable energy sources of the future. Finding solutions to enhance energy‐conversion efficiency is of paramount significance for realizing more efficient photovoltaic and photocatalytic devices. Remarkable development in chemical and physical strategies has been explored to increase the optical‐absorption coefficients, extend the spectral range, and optimize the light‐harvesting and conversion efficiency. Optical resonators, which play a ubiquitous role in modern optics, possess the unique ability to provide strong optical confinement and enormous light‐matter interactions. Such features have attracted tremendous attention in photoelectric enhancement and applications in photovoltaic, photocatalysis, and even light‐emitting devices recently. This review presents theoretical as well as experimental progress on enhanced photovoltaic and photocatalysis by exploiting optical resonators. Fundamentals of various optical cavities ar...
Nanoscale Imaging, Sensing, and Actuation for Biomedical Applications XVIII, 2021
Microlasers have emerged as a promising approach for the detection or identification of different... more Microlasers have emerged as a promising approach for the detection or identification of different biomolecules. Most lasers were designed to reflect changes of molecular concentration within the cavity, without being able to characterize biophysical changes in the gain medium. Here, we report a strategy to extract and amplify polarized laser emissions from small molecules and demonstrate how molecular rotation interplays with lasing at the nanoscale. The concept of molecular lasing polarization was proposed and was first evidenced to increase accordingly as the fluorophore binds to larger biomolecules in a microcavity. By detecting the molecular rotational correlation time through stimulated emission, small molecules could be distinguished while conventional fluorescence polarization cannot. Theoretical models were developed to elucidate the underlying mechanisms. Finally, different types of small molecules were analyzed by adopting a Fabry-Pérot optofluidic laser. The results suggest an entirely new tool to quantify small molecules and guidance for laser emissions to characterize biophysical properties down to the molecular level.