In the past 30 years, organic conjugated molecules have received a lot of attention in research because of their unique combination of active properties typical of semiconductors and the technological appeal typical of plastic materials. Among the different applications proposed for organic materials, organic lasers are quickly approaching the performance required in real devices, while research on novel active materials is still ongoing.

The book covers the basic aspects of the measurement techniques of optical gain and amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) in organic films as well as the photophysics of organic materials that can be understood using ASE measurements. It reviews the recent advances in the development of new active materials for organic lasers as well as the actual state of the art of scattering-assisted random lasers and of strongly coupled organic microcavities, both promising interesting developments in the near future. Finally, it gives a detailed review of the state of the art of the organic lasers actually closest to real applications, namely external cavity lasers and distributed feedback lasers. The book is unique that it covers basic aspects, technological aspects, and systems, which are still a subject of basic science research.

Marco Anni is a full-time researcher in the University of Salento, Lecce, Italy, where he heads the Photonics Laboratory. His research is focused on the investigation of the optical properties of novel materials for photonics applications. He has authored more than 100 publications in international journals and holds 3 patents.

Sandro Lattante teaches mathematics and physics in the secondary/tertiary education system and is skilled in organic semiconductors. He has worked as a postdoc in the LIOS team headed by Prof. N. S. Sariciftci and was a recipient of the Marie Curie European Reintegration Grant in 2009. He has authored or coauthored 30 peer-reviewed papers.