ABSTRACT
Optical microresonators play important roles for micrometer-scale laser sources, optical circuits, chemical- and bio-sensing tools, and so on. Microresonators from organic and polymer materials are advantageous for their inherent soft and elastic propensities and simple fabrication process at around room temperature with low energy consumption. This chapter describes self-assembled microspheres from π-conjugated polymers, which act as fluorescent microresonators. π-Conjugated polymers play pivotal roles in the field of organic electronics, optoelectronics, and photonics. The chapter introduces three self-assembly methods in solution process: vapor diffusion method, interface precipitation method, and miniemulsion method. To prevent the π-π stacking of the conjugated planes, introduction of bulky moieties onto the main chain of the π-conjugated backbone is effective. The conjugated polymer microspheres act as an optical resonator. To obtain whispering gallery mode (WGM) lasing from the microspheres, population inversion and stimulated emission are necessary. Future prospects are electrically driven WGM photoluminescence and lasing by charge injection into conjugated polymer microresonators.
