Proof-of-concept of a miniature pressure sensor based on coupled optical WGMs excited in a dielectric microsphere

Abstract

Optical whispering-gallery mode (WGM) resonators retain increased interest as a key element in various high-resolution sensing and spectroscopic devices in modern optoelectronic, optofluidic and Lab-on-chip technologies. As a theoretical proof-of-concept, we present a new miniature pressure sensor based on coupled WGMs optically excited in a dielectric microsphere placed near a flexible reflective membrane which acts as an ambient pressure sensing element. WGMs are excited by free-space coupling of incoming optical radiation to a spherical microparticle. The distinctive feature of proposed sensor is double WGM excitation by forward and backward propagating radiation upon reflection from a membrane that causes WGMs interference in particle volume. Unlike known WGM-sensors, the proposed design utilize not the resonant frequency shift but the changes in optical intensity of resulting field established in the microsphere which carries information about the exact position of pressure-loaded membrane. The sensitivity of the proposed sensor strongly depends on the quality factor of the working resonance, as well as geometrical and mechanical parameters of flexible reflecting membrane. Important advantages of the proposed sensor are its miniature design and the absence of a mechanical contact of pressure-sensitive element with WGM resonator.