Chalcogenide glass microspheres; their production, characterization and potential

Area of Science:

• Photonics and optical materials science.
• Development of advanced optical components.

Background:

• Micro-resonators are crucial for photonic devices like multiplexers, memory, and switches.
• All-optical-resonators enhance light intensity, enabling nonlinear effects at lower power.
• Chalcogenide glasses offer unique optical properties for resonator applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To fabricate and characterize gallium-lanthanum-sulfide glass microspheres for photonic applications.
• To measure the quality factor (Q factor) of these microspheres at telecommunication wavelengths.
• To predict the ultimate performance potential of these novel micro-resonators.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of glass microspheres with diameters ranging from sub-micrometer to 450 micrometers.
• Optical characterization of microsphere resonators at a wavelength of 1.55 micrometers.
• Theoretical prediction of the ultimate quality factor at 3 micrometers.

Main Results:

• Successfully produced gallium-lanthanum-sulfide glass microspheres.
• Demonstrated a measured quality factor of 8x10^4 for a 100 micrometer diameter sphere at 1.55 micrometers.
• Predicted an ultimate quality factor of up to 4x10^10 at 3 micrometers.

Conclusions:

• Gallium-lanthanum-sulfide glass microspheres are viable candidates for high-performance photonic micro-resonators.
• The achieved quality factor indicates potential for efficient all-optical signal processing.
• The predicted ultimate Q factor suggests significant future advancements in optical device capabilities.