Two types of nanotapered nanowires

were selected: a highly tapered nanowire and a tapered nanowire with a flat head. We found that a greater fraction of the light was reflected and traveled back to the left inside the nanowire. Interestingly, the fraction of light transmission in the tapered structure with a flat head was greater than that in the highly tapered structure. In other words, the light confinement could be increased in the highly tapered structure. The simulation result indicated that our urchin-like microstructure with multiple-tapered nanowires could improve the light confinement and increase the possibility of light amplification, resulting in a higher Q factor for the urchin-like microstructures compared to other nano/microstructures. Figure 4c shows the variation in GPCR & G Protein inhibitor the lasing threshold density as the size of the ZnO microcavities Buparlisib clinical trial changed. Note that the larger-sized ZnO microcavities had a lower lasing threshold density than the smaller microcavities because the larger volume of the cavities increased the length of the optical gain. Thus, RL could be easily achieved. In addition, the number of resonance modes clearly increased as the size of the cavities increased. The number of lasing modes was also directly related to the size of the microcavities. Figure 4c also shows the number of lasing modes as a function of the size of the microcavities just above their lasing threshold. For the smallest

microcavities, only four peaks were observed. As the size of the microcavities increased further, the number of lasing modes increased. The finite size of the cavities limited the number of lasing modes as a result of the gain competition between the random lasing microcavities. If the path loop of the cavity mode spatially overlapped other cavity loops, the lasing behavior did not occur. These results were in agreement with the theoretical calculation for RL [29]. Conclusions In conclusion, we reported a simple method for preparing

urchin-like ZnO microlaser cavities via the oxidization of metallic Zn. The hexagonal Zn microcrystals were prepared using vapor-phase transport. After the oxidation of the Zn microcrystals, urchin-like ZnO selleck inhibitor microstructures were formed, and the mechanism of their crystal growth was proposed. For each individual urchin-like ZnO macrostructure, the laser presented a low threshold and high Q factor because the tapered nanowires could serve as effective optical reflectors to improve the optical confinement in the microstructures. The lasing characteristics such as the lasing mode and threshold were investigated. The results are significant for designing architectural nanotapered structures for advanced light management in other optoelectronic devices. Acknowledgements This research is financially supported by the National Science Council of Taiwan under grant NSC-102-2112-M-006-012-MY3 and the Aim for the Top University Project of the Ministry of Education. References 1.