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Microwave Photonics Systems Based on Whispering-gallery-mode Resonators
Published on: August 5, 2013
Ultrahigh-Q tunable whispering-gallery-mode microresonator.
M Pöllinger1, D O'Shea, F Warken
1Institut für Physik, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz, 55099 Mainz, Germany.
Physical Review Letters
|October 2, 2009
Summary
Researchers developed tunable bottle microresonators from optical fibers. These resonators overcome limitations in frequency spacing and tunability for precise optical applications.
Area of Science:
- Photonics and Optical Engineering
- Materials Science
Background:
- Standard microresonators have fixed frequency spacing and limited tunability, restricting their application in precise frequency matching scenarios.
- Whispering-gallery-mode (WGM) resonators offer high quality factors and small mode volumes but typically lack broad tunability.
Purpose of the Study:
- To overcome the limitations of fixed frequency spacing and limited tunability in microresonators.
- To demonstrate a novel microresonator design with a customizable mode structure for precise frequency control.
Main Methods:
- Fabrication of highly prolate-shaped whispering-gallery-mode "bottle microresonators" using standard optical glass fibers.
- Experimental characterization of the resonators' quality factor, mode volume, and coupling efficiency.
- Analysis of the mode structure to demonstrate tunability.
Main Results:
- Achieved an ultrahigh quality factor of 3.6 x 10^8.
- Demonstrated near-lossless fiber coupling.
- Exhibited a simple and customizable mode structure enabling full tunability.
Conclusions:
- Bottle microresonators overcome the inherent limitations of traditional microresonators.
- The demonstrated tunability and high performance open new possibilities for applications requiring precise frequency matching in photonics.
