Observation of a modulation effect caused by a microsphere resonator strongly coupled to a dielectric substrate

The effect of modulation caused by a microsphere resonator is experimentally investigated with a model system consisting of a microsphere resonator and a plane substrate. We used total internal reflection microscopy (TIRM), which is a combination of conventional optical microscopy and the total internal reflection method, and observed the intensity distribution under the resonator in the evanescent-wave incidence condition. The TIRM patterns drastically change when the wavelength of the incident beam is scanned across a resonance. The response of the system is discussed on the basis of a recent proposal of traveling-wave resonance.