Microbubble resonators for scattering-free absorption spectroscopy of nanoparticles

We present a proof-of-concept experiment where the absorbance spectra of suspensions of plasmonic nanoparticles are accurately reconstructed through the photothermal conversion that they mediate in a microbubble resonator. This thermal detection produces spectra that are insensitive towards light scattering in the sample, as proved experimentally by comparing the spectra of acqueos gold nanorods suspensions in the presence or absence of milk powder. In addition, the microbubble system allows for the interrogation of small samples (below 40 nl) while using a low-intensity beam (around 20 µW) for their excitation. In perspective, this system could be implemented for the characterization of turbid biological fluids through their optical absorption, especially when considering that the microbubble resonator naturally interfaces to a microfluidic circuit and may easily fit within portable or on-chip devices.

Enhanced photorefractivity and rare-earth photoluminescence in SnO2 nanocrystals-based photonic glass-ceramics

This work presents state of the art rare-earth activated SnO2 nanocrystals - based transparent glass-ceramics. With combined enhancements in both photorefractivity and rare-earth photoluminescence, the glass-ceramic has unique benefits as a lasing material. It exhibits high photorefractivity with UV induced refractive index modifications in the order of 10-3. Exploiting its high photorefractivity, optical gratings are fabricated on the glass-ceramic under an energy-efficient direct UV writing process. Furthermore, SnO2 semiconductor nanocrystals are also employed as efficient rare-earth sensitizers enhancing drastically the rare-earth photoluminescence.

Microbubble Resonators for All-Optical Photoacoustics of Flowing Contrast Agents

In this paper, we implement a Whispering Gallery mode microbubble resonator (MBR) as an optical transducer to detect the photoacoustic (PA) signal generated by plasmonic nanoparticles. We simulate a flow cytometry experiment by letting the nanoparticles run through the MBR during measurements and we estimate PA intensity by a Fourier analysis of the read-out signal. This method exploits the peaks associated with the MBR mechanical eigenmodes, allowing the PA response of the nanoparticles to be decoupled from the noise associated with the particle flow whilst also increasing the signal-to-noise ratio. The photostability curve of a known contrast agent is correctly reconstructed, validating the proposed analysis and proving quantitative PA detection. The experiment was run to demonstrate the feasible implementation of the MBR system in a flow cytometry application (e.g., the detection of venous thrombi or circulating tumor cells), particularly regarding wearable appliances. Indeed, these devices could also benefit from other MBR features, such as the extreme compactness, the direct implementation in a microfluidic circuit, and the absence of impedance-matching material.

Nonlinear Optics in Microspherical Resonators

Nonlinear frequency generation requires high intensity density which is usually achieved with pulsed laser sources, anomalous dispersion, high nonlinear coefficients or long interaction lengths. Whispering gallery mode microresonators (WGMRs) are photonic devices that enhance nonlinear interactions and can be exploited for continuous wave (CW) nonlinear frequency conversion, due to their capability of confine light for long time periods in a very small volume, even though in the normal dispersion regime. All signals must be resonant with the cavity. Here, we present a review of nonlinear optical processes in glass microspherical cavities, hollow and solid.

Selective coupling of Whispering Gallery Modes in film coated micro-resonators

Whispering Gallery Mode (WGM) micro-resonators like microspheres or microtoroids are typically used as high-Q cavity substrate on which a functional film coating is deposited. In order to exploit the coating properties a critical step is the efficient excitation of WGMs mainly contained inside the deposited layer. We developed a simple method able to assess whether or not these modes are selectively excited. The method is based on monitoring the thermal shift of the excited resonance, which uniquely depends on the thermo-optic coefficient and on the thermal expansion coefficient of the material in which the mode is embedded.

Efficient frequency generation in phoXonic cavities based on hollow whispering gallery mode resonators

We report on nonlinear optical effects on phoxonic cavities based on hollow whispering gallery mode resonators pumped with a continuous wave laser. We observed stimulated scattering effects such as Brillouin and Raman, Kerr effects such as degenerated and non-degenerated four wave mixing, and dispersive wave generation. These effects happened concomitantly. Hollow resonators give rise to a very rich nonlinear scenario due to the coexistence of several family modes.

THz Pyro-Optical Detector Based on LiNbO₃ Whispering Gallery Mode Microdisc Resonator

This study analyzes the capabilities of a LiNbO₃ whispering gallery mode microdisc resonator as a potential bolometer detector in the THz range. The resonator is theoretically characterized in the stationary regime by its thermo-optic and thermal coefficients. Considering a Q-factor of 10⁷, a minimum detectable power of 20 μW was evaluated, three orders of magnitude above its noise equivalent power. This value opens up the feasibility of exploiting LiNbO₃ disc resonators as sensitive room-temperature detectors in the THz range.

Optical Microbubble Resonators with High Refractive Index Inner Coating for Bio-Sensing Applications: An Analytical Approach

The design of Whispering Gallery Mode Resonators (WGMRs) used as an optical transducer for biosensing represents the first and crucial step towards the optimization of the final device performance in terms of sensitivity and Limit of Detection (LoD). Here, we propose an analytical method for the design of an optical microbubble resonator (OMBR)-based biosensor. In order to enhance the OMBR sensing performance, we consider a polymeric layer of high refractive index as an inner coating for the OMBR. The effect of this layer and other optical/geometrical parameters on the mode field distribution, sensitivity and LoD of the OMBR is assessed and discussed, both for transverse electric (TE) and transverse magnetic (TM) polarization. The obtained results do provide physical insights for the development of OMBR-based biosensor.

Stimulated Stokes and Antistokes Raman Scattering in Microspherical Whispering Gallery Mode Resonators

Dielectric microspheres can confine light and sound for a length of time through high quality factor whispering gallery modes (WGM). Glass microspheres can be thought as a store of energy with a huge variety of applications: compact laser sources, highly sensitive biochemical sensors and nonlinear phenomena. A protocol for the fabrication of both the microspheres and coupling system is given. The couplers described here are tapered fibers. Efficient generation of nonlinear phenomena related to third order optical non-linear susceptibility Χ((3)) interactions in triply resonant silica microspheres is presented in this paper. The interactions here reported are: Stimulated Raman Scattering (SRS), and four wave mixing processes comprising Stimulated Anti-stokes Raman Scattering (SARS). A proof of the cavity-enhanced phenomenon is given by the lack of correlation among the pump, signal and idler: a resonant mode has to exist in order to obtain the pair of signal and idler. In the case of hyperparametric oscillations (four wave mixing and stimulated anti-stokes Raman scattering), the modes must fulfill the energy and momentum conservation and, last but not least, have a good spatial overlap.

Generation of hyper-parametric oscillations in silica microbubbles

Cavity resonant enhanced stimulated Raman scattering (SRS), four-wave mixing, and broadband hyper-parametric oscillation in silica microbubble whispering gallery mode resonators (WGMR) in forward and backward directions are reported in this Letter. We show that microbubbles can operate not only in a highly ideal two-photon emission regime, but also generate combs, both natively and multi-mode spaced. The nonlinear process is phase matched because of the interaction of different mode families of the resonator.

Confocal reflectance microscopy for determination of microbubble resonator thickness

Optical Micro Bubble Resonators (OMBR) are emerging as new type of sensors characterized by high Q-factor and embedded micro-fluidic. Sensitivity is related to cavity field penetration and, therefore, to the resonator thickness. At the state of the art, methods for OMBR's wall thickness evaluation rely only on a theoretical approach. The purpose of this study is to create a non-destructive method for measuring the shell thickness of a microbubble using reflectance confocal microscopy. The method was validated through measurements on etched capillaries with different thickness and finally it was applied on microbubble resonators.

Stimulated anti-Stokes Raman scattering resonantly enhanced in silica microspheres

Efficient stimulated anti-Stokes Raman scattering has been observed in silica microspherical resonators pumped by CW laser. This process is observed in the normal dispersion regime. The lack of correlation between stimulated anti-Stokes and Stokes scattering spectra indicates that the signal has to be resonant with the cavity.

About the role of phase matching between a coated microsphere and a tapered fiber: experimental study

Coatings of spherical optical microresonators are widely employed for different applications. Here the effect of the thickness of a homogeneous coating layer on the coupling of light from a tapered fiber to a coated microsphere has been studied. Spherical silica microresonators were coated using a 70SiO(2)- 30HfO(2) glass doped with 0.3 mol% Er(3+) ions. The coupling of a 1480 nm pump laser inside the sphere has been assessed using a tapered optical fiber and observing the 1530-1580 nm Er(3+) emission outcoupled to the same tapered fiber. The measurements were done for different coating thicknesses and compared with theoretical calculations to understand the relationship of the detected signal with the whispering gallery mode electric field profiles.

Whispering gallery mode aptasensors for detection of blood proteins

Whispering gallery mode resonators (WGMR), as silica microspheres, have been recently proposed as an efficient tool for the realisation of optical biosensors. In this work we present a functionalization procedure based on the DNA-aptamer sequence immobilization on WGMR, able to recognize specifically thrombin or VEGF protein, preserving a high Q factor. The protein binding was optically characterized in terms of specificity in buffer solution or in 10% diluted human serum. Simulation of the protein flow was found in good agreement with experimental data. The aptasensor was also chemically regenerated and tested again, demonstrating the reusability of our system.

Characterization technique of optical whispering gallery mode resonators in the microwave frequency domain for optoelectronic oscillators

Optical Q factor measurements are performed on a whispering gallery mode (WGM) disk resonator using a microwave frequency domain approach instead of using an optical domain approach. An absence of hysteretic behavior and a better linearity are obtained when performing linewidth measurements by using a microwave modulation for scanning the resonances instead of the piezoelectric-based frequency tuning capability of the laser. The WGM resonator is then used to stabilize a microwave optoelectronic oscillator. The microwave output of this system generates a 12.48 GHz signal with -94 dBc/Hz phase noise at 10 kHz offset.

Hybrid microspheres for nonlinear Kerr switching devices

Electronic Kerr effect in a polyfluorene derivative is used to reversibly switch near infrared probe beam resonantly coupled to a hybrid polymer-silica microspherical resonator. NIR pumping at 780 nm in pulsed laser regime is used for non-linear switching of the WGM resonances that shift as much as 2 GHz for 50 mW of average pump power, compared to a shift of 250 MHz for the same average pump power at CW regime. The absence of temporal drift and the magnitude of this shift confirm the Kerr nature of the switching, ruling out thermooptical effects.

Optical microspherical resonators for biomedical sensing

Optical resonators play an ubiquitous role in modern optics. A particular class of optical resonators is constituted by spherical dielectric structures, where optical rays are total internal reflected. Due to minimal reflection losses and to potentially very low material absorption, these guided modes, known as whispering gallery modes, can confer the resonator an exceptionally high quality factor Q, leading to high energy density, narrow resonant-wavelength lines and a lengthy cavity ringdown. These attractive characteristics make these miniaturized optical resonators especially suited as laser cavities and resonant filters, but also as very sensitive sensors. First, a brief analysis is presented of the characteristics of microspherical resonators, of their fabrication methods, and of the light coupling techniques. Then, we attempt to overview some of the recent advances in the development of microspherical biosensors, underlining a number of important applications in the biomedical field.

Birefringence control for ion-exchanged channel glass waveguides

We show that at 1.55-mum wavelength the waveguide birefringence of ion-exchanged channel waveguides in glass can be broadly tuned by a potassium and silver double-ion exchange. Two different potassium and silver double-ion-exchange processes are used to make surface waveguides with negligible waveguide birefringence. This process is crucially important in the manufacture of devices for dense wavelength-division multiplexing systems. The dependence of the waveguide birefringence on the channel width is also reported.