A high-resolution strain-gauge nanolaser

Interest in mechanical compliance has been motivated by the development of flexible electronics and mechanosensors. In particular, studies and characterization of structural deformation at the fundamental scale can offer opportunities to improve the device sensitivity and spatiotemporal response; however, the development of precise measurement tools with the appropriate resolution remains a challenge. Here we report a flexible and stretchable photonic crystal nanolaser whose spectral and modal behaviours are sensitive to nanoscale structural alterations. Reversible spectral tuning of ∼26 nm in lasing wavelength, with a sub-nanometre resolution of less than ∼0.6 nm, is demonstrated in response to applied strain ranging from −10 to 12%. Instantaneous visualization of the sign of the strain is also characterized by exploring the structural and corresponding modal symmetry. Furthermore, our high-resolution strain-gauge nanolaser functions as a stable and deterministic strain-based pH sensor in an opto-fluidic system, which may be useful for further analysis of chemical/biological systems.