Biomass-derived bamboo photonic crystals for narrowband lasing

Narrowband multicolor lasing holds pivotal significance for bioimaging, biosensing and optoelectronic display applications. Photonic crystals (PCs) form photonic band gaps (PBGs) via periodic dielectric structures, enabling precise regulation of laser wavelength and linewidth. However, current synthetic PC substrates suffer from poor biocompatibility, reliance on sophisticated micromanipulation techniques, and inefficient energy coupling. Bamboo, a renewable biomaterial with a hierarchical structure and fundamental cellulose-lignin-hemicellulose composition, in which lignin resists photoluminescence quenching, while cellulose and hemicellulose exhibit a large refractive index difference, two properties that are highly favorable for PC functionality. Here, we demonstrate narrowband multicolor lasing via coupling quantum dot emission with naturally derived bamboo photonic crystals. In contrast to inorganic and synthetic polymer substrates adopted in conventional laser systems, bamboo-derived PC not only retain biocompatibility and biodegradability but also simplify the preparation process by leveraging the inherent hierarchical biomass microstructure of bamboo (e.g., vascular bundle-microfibril configuration), realizing the integration of material greenization and structural functionalization, and broadens the application scope of lasing devices in biomedicine and degradable optoelectronics. Narrowband multicolor lasing is crucial for advancing bioimaging, biosensing, and optoelectronic displays, yet current photonic crystal substrates face challenges in biocompatibility and energy efficiency. Here, the authors achieve narrowband multicolor lasing by coupling quantum dot emission with bamboo-derived photonic crystals, enhancing biocompatibility and biodegradability while simplifying fabrication, thus expanding applications in biomedicine and sustainable optoelectronics.