Tunable Whispering Gallery Mode Photonic Device Based on Microstructured Optical Fiber with Internal Electrodes

Area of Science:

• Photonics
• Optical Engineering
• Materials Science

Background:

• Whispering gallery mode (WGM) resonators are crucial for integrated photonics.
• Tuning WGM resonators often leads to a decrease in quality factor.
• Developing stable and tunable WGM devices is essential for advanced optical applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose and demonstrate the first tunable WGM photonic device utilizing side-hole microstructured optical fiber (SH-MOF) with internal electrodes.
• To investigate the thermal tuning properties of WGMs in SH-MOF devices with internal electrodes.
• To ensure high WGM quality factors are maintained during the tuning process.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of SH-MOF with integrated internal electrodes.
• Experimental characterization of WGM resonance shifts with temperature changes.
• A two-stage computational methodology to model thermal tuning, including metal filling effects.

Main Results:

• Demonstration of a tunable WGM photonic device based on SH-MOF with internal electrodes.
• Observed redshift of resonant modes with increasing temperature.
• Experimental results show excellent agreement with theoretical predictions, with a linear shift rate.
• High WGM quality factors were maintained during thermal tuning.

Conclusions:

• The developed tunable SH-MOF microresonator with internal electrodes offers stable WGM tuning.
• The device exhibits predictable thermal tuning characteristics.
• Potential applications include optical filtering, switching, and highly integrated tunable photonic systems.