基于回音壁微腔拉曼激光的纳米粒子探测

回音壁模式光学微腔由于其品质因子高、模式体积小等优点, 近年来在非标记性的纳米粒子探测方面得到了广泛的重视, 开展了大量的研究, 取得了重要的进展. 利用回音壁微腔的拉曼激光, 通过测量纳米粒子造成的模式劈裂的拍频, 可以实现不同环境下纳米粒子的实时探测. 与传统的稀土离子掺杂法不同, 这种方法采用腔的内禀增益, 不仅提高了应用回音壁模式微腔进行纳米粒子探测的极限, 而且避免了传统方法中稀土离子能级对泵浦光的限制, 拓展了应用范围. 这种方法还可以应用于其他材料的回音壁微腔, 如硅基微环腔等, 以及光子晶体结构、超材料等受损耗限制的系统中. 本文简单介绍了回音壁模式光学微腔进行纳米粒子探测的基本原理以及最新研究进展.     

Thermorefractive noise in whispering gallery mode microresonators: Analytical results and numerical simulation

We demonstrate numerical finite element simulation of thermorefractive noise in whispering gallery mode cavities and compare the results with known experimental data and analytical derivations. We show that thermal interaction of the microcavity with environment is very significant, making particular geometry significant for the noise spectral density at low frequencies.     

Fundamental limitations of sensitivity of whispering gallery mode gyroscopes

We analyze theoretically both the fundamental and the technical quantum limitations of the sensitivity of a passive resonant optical gyroscope based on a high finesse monolithic optical microcavity. We show that the quantum back action associated with the resonantly enhanced optical cross- and self-phase modulation results in the standard quantum limit of the angle random walk of the gyroscope, which reaches approximately 0.2 deg/hr^1/2 for a millimeter scale CaF₂ whispering gallery mode resonator based device.     

Nonlinear optics in spheres: from second harmonic scattering to quasi‐phase matched generation in whispering gallery modes

Over the last fifteen years, a series of theoretical and experimental investigations have demonstrated the usefulness of circular geometries to tailor second‐order nonlinear optical effects. However, until recently, such effects have remained rather weak, calling for their enhancement. In parallel, developments in the field of high quality factor spherical or ring resonators have shown that many different types of light‐matter interactions can be dramatically amplified when light is coupled in the whispering gallery modes of such resonators. In high‐quality spherical micro‐resonators, close to one million interactions can occur between a nonlinear molecule and a circulating light pulse. Recent research on nonlinear optics in spherical geometry is reviewed, from micrometer‐size spheres to whispering gallery mode resonators.     

Quantum theory of whispering gallery modes in a cylindrical optical microcavity

The quantum interpretation of whispering gallery modes in a cylindrical optical microcavity is presented in analogy with quantum mechanical theory. The formulas for the resonance shifts caused by a small change in correlative refractive index are derived. Then they are applied to two applications of the cylindrical microcavity to probe the change of surrounding medium and the nonlinear effect of cavity's surface.     

Optical whispering gallery modes in dodecagonal zinc oxide microcrystals

We have investigated optical modes in zinc oxide micropillars with dodecagonal cross section using polarization-resolved microphotoluminescence spectroscopy. Luminescence spectra of such pillars show series of resonance lines with characteristic line widths and spacings. The spectral positions of the observed lines can be explained assuming a circular two-dimensional dielectric resonator. Lowest radial mode numbers (n=1,2) indicate optical whispering gallery modes.     

Whispering‐gallery mode lasing from patterned molecular single‐crystalline microcavity array

Organic single‐crystalline materials have attracted great attention for laser applications. However, the fabrication of laser resonators and pattern of crystals are still intractable problems. Organic single crystals have been limited to fundamental property studies despite their superior photonic characteristics. In this work, whispering‐gallery mode (WGM) resonators of BP1T and BP2T crystalline materials have been fabricated through a combination method with improved lithography and dry etching. Crystalline microresonators with different geometries over a large area are top‐down fabricated with submicrometer spatial resolution. WGM lasing oscillation from circular, hexagonal, pentagonal and square resonators is definitively observed. The BP1T and BP2T crystals are characterized with high refractive index, and stable lasing in aqueous solution is demonstrated besides in the air environment. It is expected that organic crystalline materials would be used for the practical applications in a variety of organic electronic and optical devices.     

Whispering gallery mode microlasers and refractive index sensing based on single polymer fiber

The realization of whispering gallery mode (WGM) lasing in polymer fibers is hindered by an appropriate method to dissolve the polymer and the gain material. In this work, microfibers fabricated by directly drawing from a dye doped polymer solution are exhibited as high quality microlasers and microsensors. Multi‐mode and even single‐mode lasing is observed from the fiber under optical pumping at room temperature. The linewidth of lasing mode is narrower than 0.09 nm. The lasing mechanism is unambiguously verified by comprehensive spectroscopic analysis and ascribed to WGMs. Diameter‐ and polarization‐dependent lasing characteristics are systematically investigated, showing good agreement with the theoretical calculation. Particularly, application of the fiber laser for refractive index sensing based on resonant shift of lasing mode is demonstrated and the sensitivity up to about 300 nm/RIU is achieved. The promising potential of high quality polymer microfibers as optical sensors and multi‐function components for flexible photonic integrated systems is highly expected.     

Polarization-modified Fano line shape spectrum with a single whispering gallery mode

Using the HE11Xand HE11Ymodes in a tapered fiber(TF)and the whispering gallery mode(WGM)in a microsphere resonator,Fano line-shape spectra were theoretically described and experimentally observed in this study.The line shapes of the spectra can be tuned to form a Lorentz notch,various Fano line shapes,and the Lorentz peak by controlling the polarizations at the input and output ports of the TF.The relative position or the size of the waveguide and WGM resonator do not need to be accurately controlled to produce these effects.The proposed configuration is suitable for mass production and will improve the performance of the devices in which it is applied.     

Surface vibrational modes in disk-shaped resonators

The natural frequencies and distributions of displacement components for the surface vibrational modes in thin isotropic elastic disks are calculated. In particular, the research is focused on even solutions for low-lying resonant vibrations with large angular wave numbers. Several families of modes are found which are interpreted as modified surface modes of an infinitely long cylinder and Lamb modes of a plate. The results of calculation are compared with the results of the experimental measurements of vibrational modes generated by means of resonant excitation in duraluminum disk with radius of ≈90 mm and thickness of 16 mm in the frequency range of 130–200 kHz. An excellent agreement between the calculated and measured frequencies is found. Measurements of the structure of the resonant peaks show splitting of some modes. About a half of the measured modes has splitting Δ_fsplit/_fmode$\mathrm{\Delta }{f}_{\mathrm{split}}/f_{\mathrm{mode}}$ at the level of the order of 10⁻⁵. The Q-factors of all modes measured in vacuum lie in the interval (2…3) × 10⁵. This value is typical for duraluminum mechanical resonators in the ultrasonic frequency range.     

Development of multi-wavelength microsphere fibre laser system for potential sensor applications

A multi-wavelength microsphere laser system, using a chirped fibre Bragg grating and a microsphere resonator as wavelength-selective elements and a high dopant erbium doped fibre as the gain material, has been successfully demonstrated. The multi-wavelength generation of the laser system arises from both the microsphere whispering gallery mode selection and from the additional Raman scattering inside the microsphere cavity when the erbium laser is operating at resonance with the whispering gallery modes. Through an appropriate design and fabrication of a microsphere and of a fibre taper, a selective multi-wavelength fibre laser has been realized when the pump power is above threshold required. The laser output lines created have shown much narrower linewidths than those from conventional fibre lasers and these characteristics are particularly suitable for the range of sensor applications envisaged in the work.     

WGM microresonators: sensing,lasing and fundamental optics with microspheres

Glass microsphere resonators that support optical resonances known as whispering‐gallery modes are unique tools for studying and exploiting optical effects under extremely well controlled conditions. In this paper, a review focusing mostly on glass microsphere resonators is presented. First, a brief historical background is given in which we see how the state‐of‐the‐art has grown from novel optical resonators to the ultrahigh Q cavities used in cutting‐edge experiments. After the basic properties of microsphere resonators are outlined we will discuss some of the recent experiments involving microsphere resonators, although some discussion involving polymeric microspheres is also included. The use of doped and undoped microspheres in optical signal processing, optical sensing and quantum optics is highlighted. Finally, there is a brief review of recent optomechanical experiments that use microspheres.     

Whispering gallery mode hybridization in photonic molecules

This work takes inspiration from chemistry where the spectral characteristics of the molecules are determined by hybridization of electronic states evolving from the individual atomic orbitals. Based on analogy between quantum mechanics and the classical electrodynamics, we sorted dielectric microspheres with almost identical positions of their whispering gallery mode (WGM) resonances. Using these microspheres as classical photonic atoms, we assembled them in a wide range of structures including linear chains and planar photonic molecules. We studied WGM hybridization effects in such structures using side coupling by tapered microfibers as well as finite difference time domain modeling. We demonstrated that the patterns of WGM spectral splitting are representative of the symmetry, number of constituting atoms and topology of the photonic molecules which in principle can be viewed as “spectral signatures” of various molecules. We also show new ways of controlling WGM coupling constants in such molecules. Excellent agreement was found between measured transmission spectra and spectral signatures of photonic molecules predicted by simulation.

     

Whispering gallery modes and effect of coating on Raman spectra of single microspheres

Raman spectra and fluorescence of BaTiO₃ and silica microspheres of different sizes have been studied. The observed whispering gallery modes (WGMs) have been assigned using theoretical simulations based on the Lorenz–Mie theory. The WGMs are found to have selective enhancements in the Raman spectra. The variations in the Raman spectra with the radial position of the excitation spot and excitation wavelength have been correlated with the morphology‐dependent internal field distributions of the microspheres. The effect of a thin dye coating on the fluorescence and Raman spectra was studied, and a coating thickness of ∼200 nm was estimated from the theoretical simulation of experimentally observed data based on the Aden and Kerker theory. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Optomechanical sensing with on-chip microcavities

The coupling between optical and mechanical degrees of freedom has been of broad interest for a long time. However, it is only until recently, with the rapid development of optical mierocavity research, that we are able to manipulate and utilize this coupling process. When a high Q microeavity couples to a mechanical resonator, they can consolidate into an optomeehanieal system. Benefitting from the unique characteristics offered by optomeehanical coupling, this hybrid system has become a promising platform for ultrasensitive sensors to detect displacement, mass, force and acceleration. In this review, we introduce the basic physical concepts of cavity optomechanies, and describe some of the most typical experimental cavity optomechanical systems for sensing applications. Finally, we discuss the noise arising from various sources and show the potentiality of optomechanical sensing towards quantum-noise-limited detection.     

Tm~(3+)掺杂Ge-Ga-S玻璃微球-石英光纤锥耦合系统的荧光回廊模特性

以熔融淬冷法自制了Tm~(3+)掺杂Ge-Ga-S硫系玻璃,并以此为基质材料,用漂浮粉料熔融法制备了直径分布为50—200μm的高品质因数(Q10~4)的有源硫系玻璃微球谐振腔.在显微镜下优选出一颗表面质量好、球形度较高、直径为72.84μm的微球,与氢氧焰扫描拉锥法制备的一根腰锥直径为1.93μm的石英光纤锥进行近场耦合.根据基质材料的吸收光谱特性,选用808 nm的半导体激光器作为抽运源.实验测得光纤锥倏逝波场激发出了掺Tm~(3+)硫系玻璃微球在1460 nm附近的荧光回廊模式,其典型共振峰间隔为4.39 nm.实验测得的荧光回廊模式与米氏散射理论计算结果符合度较高(最大误差仅为0.047%),验证了本文提出的掺Tm~(3+)硫系微球制备及耦合工艺的可行性.     

光学微球腔的热光效应用于温度传感器研究

为研究光学微球腔的热光效应,采用1550nm波段可调谐激光器和宽带光源两种泵浦源,分别测量了二氧化硅、碲酸盐玻璃微球及其掺杂了稀土离子的微球在激励光功率、环境温度变化时其谐振峰波长的变化量,得到了二氧化硅微球激励功率灵敏度为32.4pm/mW,温度灵敏度为13.4pm/℃;铥离子的掺杂使激励功率灵敏度达到48.7pm/mW,温度灵敏度达到15.2pm/℃.相应的碲酸盐微球激励功率灵敏度为71.1pm/mW,温度灵敏度为0.0191nm/℃,比光纤光栅温度传感器的灵敏度10pm/℃大了将近1倍,若掺杂了稀土离子,则高1.1倍.本文研究对微腔在温度传感器方面的应用具有参考意义.     

柱形微腔回音壁激光光谱模式的精确标定

由柱形微腔中回音壁模式满足的本征值方程,得到确定回音壁模式位置和间距的近似解析公式。以此近似解析公式,首次对直径在215～328 μm间的5个柱形微腔回音壁激光光谱做了模式标定。在用近似解析公式对柱形微腔激光光谱的数值作拟合的计算中,除了回音壁模的径向模式数(l)和角动量模式数(n)外无需其他拟合参数,解析公式的拟合值和实验激光光谱波长值间的偏差小于0.05 nm,拟合结果精确可靠。柱形微腔回音壁激光光谱模式的精确标定在模式的场分布计算以及频移型微腔生物传感器的研究应用中具有重要作用,文章介绍的方法亦可应用于柱形微腔直径和折射率的精密测量。     

An improved design for quasi-optical mode conversion of whispering gallery mode gyrotron radiation

Results are reported of a theoretical and experimental investigation of a quasi-optical mode converter for the transformation of whispering gallery mode gyrotron output into a linearly polarized Gaussian like beam. The mode converter consists of a helically cut waveguide launcher, similar to that originally proposed by Vlasovet al, followed by a focusing mirror. Theoretical results using aperture field methods indicate that the length of the waveguide launcher is of critical importance in providing a confined radiation pattern. Experimental results on the radiation pattern were obtained for several launcher lengths using a 0.6 MW, 149 GHz pulsed gyrotron operating in the TE_16,2 mode. Radiation pattern results for the optimum launcher length agree well with theoretical calculations using the Stratton-Chu aperture radiation theory for unperturbed waveguide modes. A mirror focusing in the azimuthal direction was designed by a geometrical optics approach to focus the radiation coming from the launcher. Good focusing with 91.4% efficiency (power in the focused beam divided by gyrotron power) was found experimentally using the combined launcher and mirror with the pulsed gyrotron. These results indicate that quasi-optical antennas are useful for transforming high order, high frequency gyrotron modes into directed beams in free space.     

Characteristics of Er and Er-Yb-Cr doped phosphate microsphere fibre lasers

In this paper both Er and Er-Yb-Cr doped phosphate microspheres have been successfully created through precise melting of the ends of fibre tapers, drawn, respectively, from Er and Er-Yb-Cr doped phosphate glasses. When coupled with a fibre taper, a microsphere fibre laser cavity can thus be configured creating a system pumped by a 980 nm laser diode and using an optical spectrum analyzer to monitor the spectral characteristics of the laser output. The performance and characteristics of the Er and Er-Yb-Cr microsphere lasers thus created are discussed in detail and cross-compared in this paper. Both lasers have shown low-threshold in terms of the pump power and the laser output wavelengths and a close investigation of the system has shown that the output power and laser stability are closely related to the size of the microsphere, the pump power and the microsphere material composition.