Organic circularly polarized lasers

Abstract

Circularly polarized (CP) lasers have emerged as a transformative class of photonic devices, bridging fundamental light-matter interactions with applications in optical communications, quantum technology, chiral sensing, and beyond. Unlike conventional lasers, CP lasers emit light with well-defined spin angular momentum, introducing new degrees of freedom for controlling optical information. Organic materials offer a versatile platform for generating CP lasing due to their intrinsic molecular chirality, tunable excitonic properties, flexibility, and compatibility with low-cost fabrication techniques. This review presents a comprehensive overview of the fundamental mechanisms and recent advances in organic CP lasers, from molecular design and supramolecular self-assembly to device architectures and emission control strategies. We highlight how molecular chirality, excitonic coupling, and photonic structures synergistically determine lasing handedness, wavelength, polarization degree, and threshold. Finally, we discuss key challenges, such as polarization purity and standardizing polarization characterization, and outline future directions toward continuous-wave and electrically pumped CP lasers. This review is expected to provide a roadmap for designing next-generation coherent light sources with controllable spin and polarization characteristics.