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Development of Whispering Gallery Mode Polymeric Micro-optical Electric Field Sensors
Published on: January 29, 2013
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Laser-tuned whispering gallery modes in a solid-core microstructured optical fibre integrated with magnetic fluids
1Key Laboratory of Optical Information Science and Technology, Ministry of Education, Institute of Modern Optics, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China.
Scientific Reports
|December 4, 2015
Summary
A novel laser-assisted tuning method for whispering gallery modes (WGMs) in magnetic-fluid-infiltrated microstructured optical fibers (MFIMOFs) offers high sensitivity. This technique enables precise optical tuning for advanced filtering and sensing applications.
Area of Science:
- Photonics and Optical Engineering
- Materials Science
- Nanotechnology
Background:
- Whispering gallery modes (WGMs) are crucial for microresonator applications.
- Tuning WGMs typically requires complex external systems.
- Microstructured optical fibers offer unique light-matter interaction possibilities.
Purpose of the Study:
- To propose and demonstrate a laser-assisted tuning method for WGMs in magnetic-fluids-infiltrated microstructured optical fibers (MFIMOFs).
- To investigate the thermal effect induced by magnetic fluid infiltration for WGM tuning.
- To achieve high sensitivity and laser-assisted tunability for optical applications.
Main Methods:
- Fabrication of MFIMOFs by infiltrating magnetic fluid into the air-hole array of a microstructured optical fiber.
- Setup of a fiber-coupling system for the MFIMOF-based microresonator.
- Experimental analysis of WGM resonance wavelength sensitivity to laser power.
Main Results:
- Achieved an extinction ratio of 25 dB and a Q-factor of 4.0 × 10^4.
- Demonstrated a WGM resonance wavelength sensitivity of 0.034 nm/mW, approximately 20 times higher than non-infiltrated counterparts.
- Observed a linear power dependence of resonance dip wavelength shifts.
Conclusions:
- The proposed laser-assisted tuning method for WGMs in MFIMOFs is effective and highly sensitive.
- The significant thermal effect induced by magnetic fluid infiltration is key to the tuning mechanism.
- This approach offers ease of fabrication, high sensitivity, and laser-assisted tunability, suitable for optical filtering, sensing, and all-optical networking.
