204 results about "Whispering gallery" patented technology

Techniques for directly converting an electrical signal into an optical signal by using a whispering gallery mode optical resonator formed of a dielectric material that allows for direct modulation of optical absorption by the electrical signal.

A cylindrical waveguide with a mode converter transforms a whispering gallery mode from a gyrotron cylindrical waveguide with a helical cut launch edge to a quasi-Gaussian beam suitable for conveyance through a corrugated waveguide. This quasi-Gaussian beam is radiated away from the waveguide using a spiral cut launch edge, which is in close proximity to a first mode converting reflector. The first mode converting reflector is coupled to a second mode converting reflector which provides an output free-space HE11 mode wave suitable for direct coupling into a corrugated waveguide. The radiated beam produced at the output of the second mode converting reflector is substantially circular.

Biosensors including resonant optical cavities. The resonant optical cavities are shaped so as to generate whispering gallery modes, which increase the quality factors of the cavities and facilitate the detection of analytes in a sample with enhanced sensitivity. The sizes of the resonant optical cavities facilitate their use in biosensors that include arrays of sensing zones. Accordingly, the resonant optical cavities may be used in high-density sensing arrays that can be read in real-time and in parallel. Thus, the resonant optical cavities are useful for detecting small concentrations of samples in real-time and with high throughput. Different embodiments of the biosensors are also disclosed, as are methods for using the biosensors.

An exemplary embodiment of the present invention described and shown in the specification and drawings is a system including an optical resonator and an optical element having a periodic structure for coupling of light into the optical resonator.

An FM LIDAR system is described that includes a frequency modulated LIDAR system that incorporates a laser source that is optically coupled to a whispering gallery mode optical resonator. Light from the laser that is coupled into the whispering gallery mode optical resonator is coupled back out as a returning counterpropagating wave having a frequency characteristic of a whispering gallery mode of the optical resonator. This returning wave is used to reduce the linewidth of the source laser by optical injection. Modulation of the optical properties of the whispering gallery mode optical resonator results in modulation of the frequency of the frequencies supported by whispering gallery modes of the resonator, and provides a method for producing highly linear and reproducible optical chirps that are highly suited for use in a LIDAR system. Methods of using such an FM LIDAR system and vehicle assisting systems that incorporate such FM LIDAR systems are also described.

The present invention is directed to hollow core optical ring resonators (HCORRs), methods of fabricating HCORRs, and methods of using HCORRs in sensing applications. In particular, the evanescent field and whispering gallery modes of the HCORRs may be used to detect a target analyte within the hollow core of the HCORR. Other features of the present invention include utilizing the HCORR as part of a multiplex sensing device, including using the HCORR in capillary electrophoresis and chromatography applications.

A microresonator sensor apparatus has a microcavity resonator that defines equatorial whispering gallery modes (EWGMs), whose frequencies are separated by the free spectral range (FSR). The EWGMs lie in a plane perpendicular to a microcavity resonator axis. A light source is optically coupled to inject light into the microcavity resonator. The light source produces output light having an output spectrum whose bandwidth is approximately equal to or broader than the FSR of the EGWMs. One or more fluorescent materials are excited using the excitation light coupled into the microcavity resonator. A fluorescent signal arising from fluorescence of the one or more fluorescent materials is then detected.

An optical device, optical system, and method of generating optical beams having high angular momenta are provided. The optical device includes a whispering gallery mode resonator defining a resonator radius and an elongated waveguide having a length defined between a first end and a second end of the waveguide. The waveguide defines a waveguide radius which increases at least along a portion of the length of the waveguide in a direction from the first end to the second end. The waveguide radius at the first end of the waveguide is smaller than the resonator radius and the resonator is integrally formed with the first end of the waveguide.

A grating-outcoupled microcavity disk resonator has whispering gallery modes existing in a nearly circular resonator. Light is outcoupled by providing a grating region in the plane of the grating-outcoupled microcavity disk resonator. The grating region provides an outcoupling or lass mechanism that symmetrically interacts with the clockwise and counterclockwise whispering gallery modes, thereby making the resonator capable of surface emission.

There are several different applications where it is desirable to increase the amount of material that can be introduced to the surface of a microresonator that has whispering gallery modes. The use of a porous surface on the microresonator permits greater amounts of the material to be captured on or near the surface of the microresonator, resulting in an increased optical interaction between the material and the light propagating in the whispering gallery mode(s) of the microresonator.

The invention provides a whispering gallery mode photonic device and a preparation method thereof. According to the preparation method of a micro ring array structure, solvent droplets are utilized to dissolve a polymer film, so that a "coffee ring effect" can be generated, and therefore, polymer can be accumulated at the periphery of liquid so as to form an annular structure of which the height is obviously different from the height of the film, and conduction and confinement of light in the polymer structure can be realized; and light signals are inputted to the micron ring structure through utilizing excitation, scattering or near field coupling modes, so that a resonance effect in a whispering gallery mode can be realized. The prepared micron ring structure can be adopted as a high-quality factor optical micro cavity, so that a modulation-mode spectrum can be obtained, the width of spectral lines of the spectrum being significantly narrowed; a whispering gallery-mode light amplification stimulated emission can be realized through optical gain; and in a multi-ring coupled array structure, light signal processing and high sensitive response to outside stimuli can be realized according to the wavelength change information of the modulated spectrum and laser modes.

The invention discloses an optical frequency domain reflection-distributed vibration frequency sensing and locating device and a demodulation method. A technical method of optical frequency domain reflection beat frequency interference of a self-injective mode locking laser of a linear turning ultra-narrow linewidth whispering gallery mode is adopted in the optical frequency domain reflection-distributed vibration frequency sensing and locating device. The optical frequency domain reflection-distributed vibration frequency sensing and locating device comprises a main interferometer which is used to obtain a sensing signal and an auxiliary interferometer of a clock trigger signal. The demodulation method comprises that wavelength domain information is obtained by the main interferometer, fast Fourier transform is used to transform the wavelength domain information, and then distance domain information is obtained. A group of static reference signals and a group of vibration signals are collected. The distance domain information, namely local distance domain information, is selected in sequence by moving windows. Complex number cross correlation is used on the static signals and the vibration signals of the local distance domain information on each position. According to a noise coefficient of the complex number cross correlation, a position of a vibration point is obtained. A subsidiary summit position of the complex number cross correlation of the local distance domain information on the position of the vibration is picked up, and the subsidiary summit position is vibration frequency information.

The invention provides a liquid drop whispering gallery mode laser and a manufacturing method thereof. According to the liquid drop whispering gallery mode laser, a first single-mode optical fiber with the middle being provided with a cone area is connected with a pump light source and a spectrograph, a second single-mode optical fiber is connected to a trapping light source and an annular core optical fiber, the front end of the annular core optical fiber is processed into a cone frustum shaped optical fiber tip, a laser beam emitted by the trapping light source is injected into a fiber core of the annular core optical fiber through the second single-mode optical fiber, total reflection and refraction occur in light at an inclined plane of the cone frustum shaped optical fiber tip of the annular core optical fiber, an annular convergence optical field is formed near the cone frustum shaped optical fiber tip so as to realize an optical tweezers function, the optical tweezers stably capture a micro liquid drop, the captured liquid crystal micro liquid drop is enabled to be close to the cone area of the first single-mode optical fiber, the pump light source injects from the front end of the first single-mode optical fiber, and the spectrograph detects excited laser light at the rear end of the first single-mode optical fiber. According to the invention, a high Q-value liquid drop micro spherical cavity with a perfect surface is formed by surface tension, and the optical tweezers stably control the liquid drop micro-sphere. The liquid drop whispering gallery mode laser provided by the invention has an extremely low threshold.

An integrated optofluidic system for trapping and transporting particles for analysis is provided comprising a planar substrate; a microfluidic channel; and a waveguide integrated with the channel. A microsphere particle in the integrated optofluidic system can act as a cavity, allowing light to circulate many thousands of times around the circumference of the microsphere. Optical trapping and transport is used for nanoscale positioning to excite the microsphere resonances. Sensitive measurements on molecules can be accomplished by monitoring changes in whispering gallery modes (WGMs) that propagate around the circumference of the microsphere. By using a broadband or supercontinuum light source, a microsphere can be trapped and many WGM resonances can be excited through the visible and near-infrared wavelengths simultaneously. After the resonances are measured using the waveguide transmission, the microsphere can be freed by decreasing the optical power and the process repeated with a different microsphere.

A grating-outcoupled microcavity disk resonator has whispering gallery modes existing in a nearly circular resonator. Light is outcoupled by providing a grating region in the plane of the grating-outcoupled microcavity disk resonator. The grating region provides an outcoupling or loss mechanism that symmetrically interacts with the clockwise and counterclockwise whispering gallery modes, thereby making the resonator capable of surface emission.

Devices for generating a laser beam are disclosed. The devices include a silicon micro ring having at least one silicon optical waveguide disposed at a distance from the micro ring. The radius and the cross-sectional dimension of the microring, the cross-sectional dimension of the waveguide, and the distance between the micro ring and the waveguide are determined such that one or more pairs of whispering gallery mode resonant frequencies of the micro ring are separated by an optical phonon frequency of silicon. Methods of manufacturing a lasing device including a silicon micro ring coupled with a silicon waveguide are also disclosed.

The invention discloses a narrow-band fiber laser for mixed medium whisper gallery mode microcavity full-optical tuning. The fiber laser comprises a semiconductor laser pump source, a wavelength division multiplexer, a gain fiber, a fiber isolator, an optical coupler, a polarization controller and a tapering fiber coupling mixed medium microcavity, wherein the units are connected end to end in a fiber coupling manner to form a fiber resonant cavity in a closed manner. The tapering fiber coupling mixed medium microcavity is taken as a mode selection unit in the fiber resonant cavity, light is coupled into the microcavity through one end of a tapering fiber, total reflection transmission is carried out on each end face to form a whisper gallery resonance mode, and the light is returned to the fiber resonant cavity through the other end of the tapering fiber. The mixed medium microcavity is composed of two or more than two layers of media, namely one or more layers of medium films with high index of refraction, great thermo-optical coefficient and high light transmissivity are wrapped on the inner layer medium surface of the microcavity. The laser has the characteristics of large wavelength coverage full-optical tenability, compact strucutre, good monochromaticity and the like.

A surface plasmon laser includes a metal layer, a gain medium layer provided on the metal layer and having a circular structure portion in which a whispering gallery mode is generated in which surface plasmon light generated due to surface plasmon resonance on an interface with the metal layer rotates along a circle, and a deformed portion formed to output part of laser light generated in the circular structure portion of the gain medium layer.

A system and method for is a micro-laser based nano-scale object detection system and method using frequency shift and / or mode splitting techniques. The system and method can provide highly sensitive detection of nanoparticles with a self-referenced and self-heterodyned whispering-gallery Raman micro-laser. The system and method also provides for nano-particle size measurement.

A locally-outcoupled optical resonator has whispering gallery modes existing in a nearly circular resonator. Light is outcoupled by providing a local perturbing feature on the perimeter of the locally-outcoupled cavity resonator. The perturbing feature provides an outcoupling or loss mechanism that asymmetrically interacts with circulating whispering gallery modes, thereby making the resonator capable of uni-directional output.

An apparatus and method for performing surface microscopy of an optical device uses an optical fiber taper including a microsphere endpoint as a near field probe. A transmission fiber is disposed adjacent to the microsphere so as to evanescently couple an optical test signal into the microsphere. A series of extremely narrow whispering gallery mode (WGM) resonances are created within the microsphere, with an associated electromagnetic field radiating outward therefrom. The microsphere probe may then be moved over the surface of an optical device being analyzed (or the device translated underneath the microsphere), where any abnormalities in the surface (such as defects, scratches and the like) will perturb the electromagnetic field pattern and be reflected in changes in the measured output power from the microsphere.

A sensor for determining the presence or concentration of a target entity in a medium is described, and includes (a) an optical waveguide; (b) a microresonator optically coupled with the optical waveguide such that light within the optical waveguide induces a resonant mode within the microresonator at an equator region (or a mode volume); and (c) at least one plasmonic nanoparticle adsorbed onto a surface area of the microresonator within the equator region (or the mode volume) such that light inducing a resonant mode within the microresonator also causes a plasmonic resonance in the at least one plasmonic nanoparticle. Detection methods for using such sensors are also described. Finally, methods, involving the use of carousel forces, for fabricating such sensors are also described.

Methods of manufacturing a lasing device are provided by some embodiments, the methods including: creating a silicon micro ring with a predetermined radius and a predetermined first cross-sectional dimension; creating a silicon waveguide with a predetermined second cross-sectional dimension, the silicon waveguide spaced from the silicon micro ring by a predetermined distance; and wherein the predetermined distance, the predetermined radius, the predetermined first cross-sectional dimension, and the predetermined second cross-sectional dimension are determined so that at least one first whispering gallery mode resonant frequency of the silicon micro ring and at least one second whispering gallery mode resonant frequency of the silicon micro ring are separated by an optical phonon frequency of silicon.

An evanescent optical sensor is formed as a coil of either optical fiber or microfiber. By coiling the fiber / microfiber, the overall size of the sensor is significantly reduced when compared to “straight path” prior art fiber sensors, yet exhibits a similar degree of sensitivity, in operation, an optical signal is coupled into a fiber coil that has been immersed in an ambient to be analyzed. The use of a coil configuration results in creating a plurality of whispering gallery modes (WGMs) that will propagate along the coil by reflecting from the surface of the curved fiber / microfiber forming the coil. The interference between these modes will be modified as a function of the properties of the ambient environment within which the coil is immersed. Environmental changes cause variations in the optical length of the coil as “seen” by the various modes, and the interference of the modes is analyzed by studying the transmission spectrum at the output of the coil.

Systems are disclosed that utilize electrical signals from detectors of an imaging focal plane array or antenna elements of an antenna array to modulate optical signals. Antenna or focal plane array elements are coupled to optical waveguides by way of whispering gallery mode resonators made of electro-optic material. The resonators modulate optical signals in the waveguides based on the electrical signals from the detectors / antenna elements. The signals received by the array are converted into the optical domain, allowing subsequent optical processing and / or distribution. Each detector / antenna element involved can be identified by the specific wavelength and waveguide through which its signal is coupled, enabling subsequent optical processing of the signals such as by wavelength division multiplexing systems. Additionally disclosed are imaging sensor photonic systems that include WDM components and other optical components such one or more optical narrow-band amplifiers and / or filters. Related electro-optic modulation and tuning methods are also described.

The invention discloses a hybrid silicon-based whispering gallery mode microcavity laser which adapts to a light source part of a silicon-based photonic integrated circuit. The hybrid silicon-based whispering gallery mode microcavity laser comprises a silicon-based waveguide part and an III-V semiconductor gain part. The III-V semiconductor gain part is formed on the silicon-based waveguide part. The silicon-based waveguide part is in an SOI (silicon-on-insulator) structure with silicon, silicon dioxide and silicon. The silicon-based waveguide part is made into a triangular, rectangular, circular or waveguide-coupled output form to allow for longitudinal mode control. The III-V semiconductor gain part made of gain material is bonded to the SOI structure directly and matches with the SOI structure to form evanescent field coupling output. The hybrid silicon-based whispering gallery mode microcavity laser has the advantages that single-mode output of laser source on a silicon-based semiconductor surface is achieved by a right-triangular, square or round whispering gallery mode microcavity, cavity surface need not be split, large-scale processing is facilitated, optical coupling output and single longitudinal mode operation are easy to implement, and the laser is simpler in process and higher in practicality than the conventional single-mode lasers.