Whispering-gallery mode lasing from polymer microsphere for humidity sensing

Microlasers based on high quality(Q) whispering-gallery mode(WGM) resonance are promising low threshold laser sources for bio-sensing and imaging applications. In this Letter, dye-doped polymer microspheres were fabricated by a controlling emulsion solvent evaporation method. WGM lasing with low threshold and high Q factors was realized in an individual microsphere under femtosecond laser pumping. The slight change of environmental relative humidity(RH) can be monitored by measuring the shift of the lasing modes at the exposure of water molecules, which demonstrates the sensitivity is as high as 6 pm/RH%. The results would offer an insight into employing microlasers as sensors.     

相位匹配下锥形光纤激发出的回廊模谐振

分别计算不同直径下锥形光纤基模和玻璃微球谐振腔内最低阶径向回廊模的传播常量,利用相位匹配条件,作出了锥形光纤与石英玻璃微球腔的直径对应关系曲线.在此基础上,选择锥腰直径2.8 μm左右的低损耗锥形光纤与直径143.1 μm球形度很好的玻璃微球腔进行近场耦合以激发球内的最低阶径向回廊模谐振,在锥形光纤的两端进行通光测试,在输出端获得了等间距分布的窄线宽滤波谱线,其吸收峰位置与利用Mie理论计算的球内最低阶径向回廊模谐振峰位置相一致.     

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.     

Resonating properties of passive spherical optical microcavities

As an optically pumped device, the lasing characteristics of a spherical microcavity laser depend on the optical pumping processes. These characteristics can be described in term of the Q factor and the optical field distribution in a microsphere. We derived analytical expressions and carried out numerical calculation for Q factor and optical field. The Q factor is found to be oscillatory functions of the radius of a microsphere and the pumping wavelength, and the pumping efficiency for a resonating microsphere is much higher than that for an anti-resonating microsphere. Using tunable lasers as pumping sources is suggested in order to achieve a higher pumping efficiency. Numerical calculation on optical field distribution in spherical microcavities shows that a well focused Gaussian beam is a suitable incident wave for cavity quantum electrodynamics experiments in which strong confinement of optical field in the center of a microsphere is requested, but higher order spherical wave should be used instead for exciting whispering-gallery-mode (WGM) microsphere lasers, for the purpose of favoring optical energy transferring to WGM in optical microspheres.     

Lasing emission of dye-doped cholesteric liquid crystal microdroplet wrapped by polyglycerol in hollow glass microsphere

In this Letter,a dye-doped cholesteric liquid crystal(DDCLC)-filled hollow glass microsphere is demonstrated to be a resonator with good temperature response.A diglycerol layer is used to wrap the DDCLCs microdroplet to keep it steady and control its orientation.The whispering gallery mode(WGM)lasing and photonic band gap(PBG)lasing caused by two different mechanisms were obtained under the pump of a pulsed laser,and the temperature response of these two kinds of lasing was studied.For the liquid crystal and chiral material used in this Letter,both the WGM lasing and the PBG lasing have a blue shift in wavelength with increasing temperature.     

Depth profiling the whispering gallery modes in TiO2:Eu3+ microspheres using cathode luminescence

The depth-resolved luminescence of whispering gallery modes (WGMs) was studied in TiO2:Eu3+ microsphere using cathode luminescence. As the penetration depth of the electron beam into the microsphere was increased through the control of the accelerating voltage, periodic structures appeared superimposed over the intrinsic transition lines of Eu3+, which were attributable to the cavity enhancement effect of the spontaneous emission by WGM resonance. The calculated radial intensity distribution of the WGM and the penetration depth explained the observed dependence of the WGM structure's visibility on the accelerating voltage.     

Dynamic strain monitoring by wavelength locking between two fiber Bragg gratings fiber sensing system

We demonstrated a fiber sensing system using the method of wavelength locking of two identical fibers Bragg gratings (FBG) to interrogate the wavelength shift by directly measuring the intensity of the reflection from the sensing Bragg grating. The light source of the fiber sensing system is an EDFA fiber ring laser pumped by a 980 nm laser diode and a narrow bandwidth fiber Bragg grating for the filter of the ring laser resonator. The wavelength shift is converted to the intensity deviation of the reflection from the sensing FBG under strain variation, and is able to achieve real-time sensing of the dynamic strain sensing in civil engineering. The characteristics and key factors to maintain stability of the dynamic strain sensing system are discussed.     

Cavity-Q-driven phenomena in an evanescent-wave pumped and gain coupled whispering-gallery-mode fiber laser

We study cavity-Q-driven lasing wavelength shift and line-width widening in an evanescent-wave pumped and gain coupled Whispering-Gallery-Mode (WGM) fiber lasers. A bare optical fiber is immersed in a lower refractive index (RI) dye solution, pumped and gain coupled by evanescence waves, and linearly polarized WGM lasing emission is observed from the rim of the fiber. We find that both lasing wavelengths and line width of WGM peaks are sensitive to the RI of the dye solution and the fiber diameter, with the increase of the RI of the dye solution or decrease of the fiber diameter, a blue shift of the lasing spectrum and a widening on the spectral line width are observed. The observed phenomena have been attributed to the change of quality factor of a circular cavity built in the fiber cross section, the achieved experimental data agree well with the calculated values of the quality factor.     

Whispering gallery mode profiles in a coated microsphere

The properties of whispering gallery modes (WGM) of a microsphere can be tailored by coating the resonator with a thin film. If the coating has a higher refractive index than the microsphere core, the resulting structure will have a configuration which has similarities both with a classical WGM resonator and with a planar waveguide. By choosing the film thickness and refractive index we can tailor the degree of confinement of the WGMs inside the sphere core, coating and surrounding medium, which will in turn influence the WGMs contact with its surroundings. We present a study of the effect of the coating on the WGM mode profiles in particular of a silicon coating on a silica sphere.     

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.     

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.     

Whispering gallery microcavity lasers

Whispering gallery mode (WGM) optical microresonators have attracted intense interests in the past decades. The combination of high quality factors (Q) and small mode volumes of modes in WGM resonators significantly enhances the light‐matter interactions, making them excellent cavities for achieving low threshold and narrow linewidth lasers. In this Review, the progress in WGM microcavity lasers is summarized, and the laser performance considering resonator geometries and materials as well as lasing mechanisms is discussed. Label‐free detection using WGM resonators has emerged as highly sensitive detection schemes. However, the resolution is mainly limited by the cavity Q factor which determines the mode linewidth. Microcavity lasers, due to their narrow laser spectral width, could greatly improve the detection resolution. Some recent developments in sensing using microcavity lasers are discussed.     

光学微球腔的壳层结构研究

使用时域有限差分法,对带表面壳层的光学微球腔进行模拟计算,分析了微腔内回音壁模式的能量密度分布,总结了壳层厚度对微球腔谐振性能的影响,并由此探讨对微球腔进行调谐和模式控制的方法.采用这种壳层结构,微球腔的谐振性能得到了有效提高（Q值提高了30％以上,模式体积减小了60％）,为光学微球腔后续的结构设计和实际应用提供了一个新的优化思路.     

Photorefractive tuning of whispering gallery modes of a spherical resonator integrated inside a microstructured optical fibre

We demonstrate the photorefractive tuning of the whispering gallery modes of a single BaTiO₃ microsphere resonator integrated inside a grapefruit-shaped microstructured optical fibre, upon CW laser irradiation at 532 nm while using irradiation intensities up to 5.5 W/cm². Temporal evolution results of the WGM spectra are provided with respect to the illumination and relaxation conditions applied.     

Optical microresonator based on hollow sphere with porous wall for chemical sensing

A porous-wall hollow glass microsphere (PW-HGM) was investigated as an optical resonator for chemical vapor sensing. A single mode optical fiber taper was used to interrogate the microresonator. Adsorption of chemical molecules into the nanosized pores induced a refractive index change of the thin wall and thus a shift in its resonance spectrum. The PW-HGM resonator had shown higher vapor detection sensitivity in comparison with a solid microsphere under similar test conditions.     

偏斜光线抽运下的回音壁模式光纤激光辐射特性

研究了偏斜光线抽运下的回音壁模式光纤激光辐射特性.实验发现,在抽运光以偏斜光线方式沿光纤的近轴向抽运时,回音壁模式的光纤激光辐射中,既存在光电矢量和光纤径向垂直的横电波(TE),也存在光电矢量和光纤径向平行的横磁波(TM);随增益包层染料溶液折射率的增加,径向模式数和角模式数相同的TE波和TM波之间的波长差单调减小,回音壁模式激光辐射的中心波长向短波方向移动,辐射的波长范围变窄.用回音壁模式激光的辐射理论结合激光染料的四能级模型,满意地解释了实验结果.     

Evanescent quadrupole polariton

In this work we demonstrate the formation of a new type of polariton on the interface between a cuprous oxide slab and a polystyrene microsphere placed on the slab. The evanescent field of the resonant whispering gallery mode (WGM) of the microsphere has a substantial gradient, and therefore effectively couples with the quadrupole 1S excitons in cuprous oxide. This evanescent polariton has a long lifetime, which is determined only by its excitonic and WGM component. The polariton lower branch has a well-pronounced minimum. This suggests that this excitation is localized and can be utilized for possible BEC. The spatial coherence of the polariton can be improved by assembling the microspheres into a linear chain.     

掺钕微球的受激辐射激光和自受激拉曼散射

采用溶胶-凝胶法在SiO_2微球表面覆盖上一薄层Nd~(3+)掺杂SiO_2,并经电极放电熔融后形成表面光滑的高Q值微球.采用锥光纤将808 nm的抽运激光耦合入钕离子掺杂的高Q值微球形成回廊模,激发产生了1080—1097 nm波段受激辐射激光.由于所产生的激光有足够高的功率密度,在高Q SiO_2微球中激发产生了波长为1120—1143 nm一级自受激拉曼散射激光.推导了锥光纤掺钕微球组合的自受激拉曼散射的输出功率和阈值公式.描述了输出激光的特性:阈值、输出功率、线宽、边模抑制比.     

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.     

回音壁模式光学微腔传感

回音壁模式光学微腔具有很高的品质因子和较小的模式体积,能极大地增强腔内光场与物质相互作用,已经成为超高灵敏光学传感的优异平台,也是国际学术前沿之一。文章简介了回音壁微腔传感研究现状与热点、微腔传感平台及传感机制原理;着重列举了微腔传感的部分典型应用,例如纳米尺度单个颗粒检测、温度传感、磁场传感、化学气体传感以及压力/应力等物理量传感等;最后对光学微腔传感的研究进行了展望。