Jonathan M. Ward

Heat-and-pull rig for fiber taper fabrication

We describe a reproducible method of fabricating adiabatic tapers with 3–4μm diameter. The method is based on a heat-and-pull rig, whereby a CO2 laser is continuously scanned across a length of fiber that is being pulled synchronously. Our system relies on a CO2 mirror mounted on a geared stepper motor in order to scan the laser beam across the taper region. We show that this system offers a reliable alternative to more traditional rigs incorporating galvanometer scanners. We have routinely obtained transmission losses between 0.1 and 0.3dB indicating the satisfactory production of adiabatic tapers. The operation of the rig is described in detail and an analysis on the produced tapers is provided. The flexibility of the rig is demonstrated by fabricating prolate dielectric microresonators using a microtapering technique. Such a rig is of interest to a range of fields that require tapered fiber fabrication such as microcavity-taper coupling, atom guiding along a tapered fiber, optical fiber sensing, and th...

Quasi-droplet microbubbles for high resolution sensing applications

Optical properties and sensing capabilities of fused silica microbubbles were studied numerically using a finite element method. Mode characteristics, such as quality factor (Q) and effective refractive index, were determined for different bubble diameters and shell thicknesses. For sensing applications with whispering gallery modes (WGMs), thinner shells yield improved sensitivity. However, the Q-factor decreases with reduced thickness and this limits the final resolution. Three types of sensing applications with microbubbles, based on their optimized geometrical parameters, were studied. Herein the so-called quasi-droplet regime is defined and discussed. It is shown that best resolution can be achieved when microbubbles act as quasi-droplets, even for water-filled cavities at the telecommunications C-band.

Single-input spherical microbubble resonator

A single-input whispering gallery optical microbubble resonator is presented. Spherical microbubbles with diameters less than 100 μm, micrometer-sized wall thicknesses, and a single opening or input were fabricated by heating the tapered tip of a pressurized glass capillary using a CO(2) laser. Optical whispering gallery modes with Q factors of ∼10(5) were obtained. The bubbles were filled with water and mode shifts of ∼20 GHz were observed. Fano-type resonances were detected when the coupling optical fiber diameter was less than 1 μm, causing the microresonator to switch from being a band-stop filter to a bandpass filter. Larger bubbles with submicrometer wall thickness were also fabricated.

Contributed Review: Optical micro- and nanofiber pulling rig

We review the method of producing adiabatic optical micro- and nanofibers using a hydrogen/oxygen flame brushing technique. The flame is scanned along the fiber, which is being simultaneously stretched by two translation stages. The tapered fiber fabrication is reproducible and yields highly adiabatic tapers with either exponential or linear profiles. Details regarding the setup of the flame brushing rig and the various parameters used are presented. Information available from the literature is compiled and further details that are necessary to have a functioning pulling rig are included. This should enable the reader to fabricate various taper profiles, while achieving adiabatic transmission of ∼99% for fundamental mode propagation. Using this rig, transmissions ranging from 85% to 95% for higher order modes in an optical nanofiber have been obtained.

Hollow core, whispering gallery resonator sensors

A review of hollow core whispering gallery resonators (WGRs) is given. After a short introduction to the topic of whispering gallery resonators we provide a description of whispering gallery modes in hollow or liquid core WGRs. Next, whispering gallery mode (WGM) sensing mechanisms are outlined and some fabrication methods for microbubbles, microcapillaries and other tubular WGM devices are discussed. We then focus on the most common applications of hollow core WGRs, namely refractive index and temperature sensing, gas sensing, force sensing, biosensing, and lasing. The review highlights some of the key papers in this field and gives the reader a general overview of the current state-of-the-art.

Highly Sensitive Temperature Measurements With Liquid-Core Microbubble Resonators

The thermal shifting of whispering gallery modes (WGMs) in a microbubble resonator is investigated. The thermal shift rate is determined for different modes when the core of the microbubble is filled with air, water and ethanol. Sensitivities as high as 100 GHz/K (0.2 nm/K at wavelength of 775 nm) are observed when the microbubble core is filled with ethanol. This is the largest thermal shift rate reported for a WGM resonator. We also show that thermal behavior of the WGMs in a thin-shelled, air-filled microbubble is different from a solid microsphere. The measured shifts are compared against finite element model simulations. Q-factors for the higher order modes are typically 105, equivalent to a measurement resolution of 8.5 mK.

A Taper-Fused Microspherical Laser Source

We report on the realization of an integrated lasing device consisting of a microsphere optical resonator fused to a tapered optical fiber. A microsphere fabricated from Er: Yb-codoped phosphate glass is heated above its glass transition temperature of 375degC by pumping it at 977 nm with 70 mW via a tapered optical fiber. The onset of thermal stress in the glass at a maximum pumping power results in the sphere melting and fusing to the taper coupler, without inhibition of whispering gallery mode lasing. A taper-fused microsphere laser with ~4.5 muW of lasing power at 1593 nm is demonstrated.

Coupled-mode-induced transparency in aerostatically tuned microbubble whispering-gallery resonators.

Coupled-mode-induced transparency is realized in a single microbubble whispering-gallery mode resonator. Using aerostatic tuning, we find that the pressure-induced shifting rates are different for different radial order modes. A finite element simulation considering both the strain and stress effects shows a GHz/bar difference, and this is confirmed by experiments. A transparency spectrum is obtained when a first-order mode shifts across a higher order mode through precise pressure tuning. The resulting lineshapes are fitted with the theory. This work lays a foundation for future applications in microbubble sensing.

High-Q, ultrathin-walled microbubble resonator for aerostatic pressure sensing

Sensors based on whispering gallery resonators have minute footprints and can push achievable sensitivities and resolutions to their limits. Here, we use a microbubble resonator, with a wall thickness of 500 nm and an intrinsic Q-factor of 10(7) in the telecommunications C-band, to investigate aerostatic pressure sensing via stress and strain of the material. The microbubble is made using two counter-propagating CO(2) laser beams focused onto a microcapillary. The measured sensitivity is 19 GHz/bar at 1.55 μm. We show that this can be further improved to 38 GHz/bar when tested at the 780 nm wavelength range. In this case, the resolution for pressure sensing can reach 0.17 mbar with a Q-factor higher than 5 × 10(7).

Terahertz tuning of whispering gallery modes in a PDMS stand-alone, stretchable microsphere

We report on tuning the optical whispering gallery modes (WGMs) in a poly dimethyl siloxane-based (PDMS) microsphere resonator by more than 1 THz. The PDMS microsphere system consists of a solid spherical resonator directly formed with double stems on either side. The stems act like tie-rods for simple mechanical stretching of the microresonator, resulting in tuning of the WGMs by one free spectral range. Further investigations demonstrate that the WGM shift has a higher sensitivity (0.13 nm/μN) to an applied force when the resonator is in its maximally stretched state compared to its relaxed state.