Room temperature lasing from microdisk laser in aqueous medium

Lasing of optically pumped semiconductor microdisks immersed in aqueous medium is demonstrated for the first time. Microlasers containing quantum dot active region were placed into the transparent polydimethylsiloxane chamber filled with distilled water at room temperature. The spectral and threshold characteristics of the lasers are compared in both air and aqueous environments. We suppose that such high-Q microlasers can be used as highly sensitive biosensors. (paper)