Microcavity- and Microlaser-Based Optical Barcoding: A Review of Encoding Techniques and Applications

Area of Science:

• Optics and Photonics
• Materials Science

Background:

• Optical microbarcodes are gaining traction for applications like multiplexed assays, cell tracking, and anticounterfeiting due to their unique properties.
• Spectral barcodes are particularly advantageous due to their robustness and straightforward readout mechanisms.
• Microcavity- and microlaser-based barcodes offer highly narrow spectra, enabling the generation of millions of unique identifiers.

Purpose of the Study:

• This review focuses on microcavity-based optical barcodes.
• It discusses various types of optical microbarcodes and their encoding principles.
• The review also explores applications and future prospects of microcavity and microlaser barcodes.

Main Methods:

• The review discusses different types of optical microbarcodes, with a specific emphasis on microcavity-based designs.
• It details the use of whispering-gallery microcavities, nanowire lasers, Fabry-Pérot lasers, random lasers, and distributed feedback lasers.
• Information encoding in microcavity barcodes is primarily based on the spectral properties of emitted light, influenced by microcavity characteristics like size, shape, and gain materials.

Main Results:

• Microcavity-based barcodes encode information in emitted light properties, most commonly the spectrum.
• The spectral characteristics are tunable by altering microcavity parameters such as size, shape, and gain materials.
• Various microcavity and microlaser types are suitable for barcoding applications.

Conclusions:

• Microcavity- and microlaser-based barcodes hold significant potential for generating a vast number of unique identifiers.
• These advanced optical barcodes are applicable in fields ranging from biological research (cell tracking) to security (anticounterfeiting) and commercial use (product labeling).
• Continued research into microcavity and microlaser technologies promises further advancements in optical barcoding.