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Optical microcavites. Itoh Lab. Yasuhiko Saito. Kerry J. Vahala Nature 424 , 839 (2003). Outline. Introduction Microcavities Whispering gallery mode Application of microcavities Microtoroid ultra high Q cavities Fiber-coupled microsphere laser Summary.
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Optical microcavites Itoh Lab. Yasuhiko Saito Kerry J. Vahala Nature 424, 839 (2003)
Outline Introduction Microcavities Whispering gallery mode Application of microcavities Microtoroid ultra high Q cavities Fiber-coupled microsphere laser Summary
Microcavities Optical microcavities confine light to small volumes by resonant recirculation. Microcavities have the high Q factor and the low volume. Fabry-perot Whispering gallery Photonic crystal High Q Ultra high Q
Q factor In optical region, the Q factor is used for a measure of the photon lifetime. : photon lifetime : mode frequency The Q factor is high. Cavities confine the light efficiently.
Application Optical capacitor, low threshold micro laser, quantum informatics etc. Whispering gallery mode (WGM) In dielectric micro particles, light undergoes total internal reflection at the particle surface and becomes confined within the particles. Example of WGM Minimal reflection loss High Q factor :Refractive index Microsphere, microtoroid, microdisk, droplet
Shape of WGM microcavities WGM microcavities confine light by reflection. The surface is important. Microdisk Microsphere The surface of microspheres and droplets is so smooth that the Q factor is very high. Microtoroid Hexagonal
Input and output High Q cavities can confine light strongly. • Fiber taper • Prism • Waveguide Difficult for input and output. Various ways are attempted… J. C. Knight. et al. optics letters. 22, 15 (1997). Fiber tapers are best way to contact with cavities.
About this study Microsphere laser The authors fabricated the laser by the glass microsphere and fiber taper. Ultra high Q toroidal microcavities They attempted to get the ultra high Q factor in the microtoroid.
Fiber-coupled microsphere laser Pump wave Benefit Easy to fabricate smooth surface Fiber taper Emission wave Defect Difficult to control the size Phosphate glass ( ) microsphere Er:Yb doped for amplification
Fiber-coupled microsphere laser Photoluminescence spectra Diameter 57μm Pump wave 980nm Depending on the gain region within the sphere, lasing occurred at wavelengths ranging from 1530 to 1560 nm. M. Cai et al. OPTICS LETTERS. 25. 19 (2000)
Fiber-coupled microsphere laser Output laser power Threshold 60μW
Microtoroid ultra high Q cavities Silica toroid Benefit It can be made on the chip. Silicon post Defect Difficult to fabricate and to control the surface Q factor : Lower than microshperes Fiber taper
Microtoroid ultra high Q cavities Fabrication process Photo lithography (Fabricating circular pad) Dry etching (Etching the silicon) D. K. Armani et al. Nature. 421. 925 (2003) Reflow (Melting the disk along the periphery)
Microtoroid ultra high Q cavities Photon lifetime measurement τ=43ns
500nm My works We succeeded to fabricate ZnO microsphere by laser ablation in superfluid helium. Laser ablation ZnO tablet laser
My works Cathodoluminescence of the ZnO microsphere The WGM is observed. 500nm Spectra of the ZnO microsphere futurework Attempt to laser oscillation Manipulating microsphere General spectrum of ZnO
Summary • Microcavities can confine light to small volumes effectively. • Laser oscillation was observed by the photoluminescence in the microsphere. • The authors succeeded to fabricate ultra high Q microtroid cavities.