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Development of Whispering Gallery Mode Polymeric Micro-optical Electric Field Sensors
Published on: January 29, 2013
Compact optical curvature sensor with a flexible microdisk laser on a polymer substrate.
1Research Center for Applied Sciences (RCAS), Academia Sinica, Taiwan. mhshih@gate.sinica.edu.tw
Optics Letters
|September 17, 2009
Summary
We developed a compact optical curvature sensor using a microdisk laser on a flexible polymer. This sensor accurately measures bending, showing a -23.7 nm/mm sensitivity to curvature changes.
Area of Science:
- Photonics and optical sensing
- Materials science and engineering
Background:
- Optical sensors are crucial for measuring physical parameters.
- Miniaturization and flexibility are key for advanced sensor applications.
Purpose of the Study:
- To demonstrate a chip-scale optical curvature sensor.
- To characterize its performance and sensitivity.
Main Methods:
- Fabrication of an Indium Gallium Arsenide Phosphide (InGaAsP) microdisk laser on a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) substrate.
- Experimental characterization of lasing wavelength shifts under controlled bending.
- Validation using three-dimensional finite-difference time-domain (3D-FDTD) simulations.
Main Results:
- The optical curvature sensor exhibited a monotonic decrease in lasing wavelength with increasing bending curvature.
- Experimental sensitivity was determined to be -23.7 nm/mm.
- Excellent agreement was observed between experimental data and simulation results.
Conclusions:
- A highly sensitive, chip-scale optical curvature sensor has been successfully demonstrated.
- The device leverages a flexible polymer substrate for adaptable sensing applications.
- This technology holds promise for compact, integrated optical measurement systems.
