Toroidal Microcavity Research Articles

On-chip photon-pair generation in a silica microtoroidal cavity.

Microcavities with high Q factor and small mode volume have the potential to be efficient and compact sources of photon pairs. Here, we demonstrate on-chip photon-pair generation by spontaneous four-wave mixing in a silica microtoroidal cavity and obtain a coincidence-to-accidental ratio of 7.4 ± 0.1 with a pump power of 46 µW. The heralded photons also exhibit antibunching characterized by autocorrelation function values of gc(2)(0)=0.57±0.03<1. Comparing with a scaling model, the main noise source is found to be spontaneous Raman scattering in the cavity. This work opens a new possible means for realizing integrated nonclassical photon sources based on silica photonic circuits toward scalable quantum technologies.

Generation of Entanglement between Two Two-Level Atoms Coupled to a Microtoroidal Cavity Via Thermal Field

We investigate the entanglement dynamics of a system comprising a pair of two-level dipole-dipole interacting atoms coupled to a microtoroidal resonator. Each atom is individually coupled with the two counter-propagating whispering gallery modes of the resonator through their evanescent fields. The atom-atom entanglement shown for several parameter sets of the system was obtained using the negativity. For ideal resonators, it is seen that the entanglement is correlated to the dipole-dipole interaction and the average number of photons when the modes of the resonator are prepared in a thermal state even at high temperatures. Further, for the non-ideal resonator case, where there is a small structural deformation of the microtoroidal structure that allows a direct coupling between the modes, a counter-intuitive result is presented. The imperfections also offer the advantage of generating maximally entangled states for a two-atom subsystem with maximum fidelity.

Controllable coupling between an ultra-high-Q microtoroid cavity and a graphene monolayer for optical filtering and switching applications.

Whispering-gallery-mode optical microresonators have found impactful applications in various areas due to their remarkable properties such as ultra-high quality factor (Q-factor), small mode volume, and strong evanescent field. Among these applications, controllable tuning of the optical Q-factor is vital for on-chip optical modulation and various opto-electronic devices. Here, we report an experimental demonstration with a hybrid structure formed by an ultra-high-Q microtoroid cavity and a graphene monolayer. Thanks to the strong interaction of the evanescent wave with the graphene, the structure allows the Q-factor to be controllably varied in the range of 3.9 × 105 ∼ 6.2 × 107 by engineering optical absorption via changing the gap distance in between. At the same time, a resonant wavelength shift of 32 pm was also observed. Besides, the scheme enables us to approach the critical coupling with a coupling depth of 99.6%. As potential applications in integrated opto-electronic devices, we further use the system to realize a tunable optical filter with tunable bandwidth from 116.5 MHz to 2.2 GHz as well as an optical switch with a maximal extinction ratio of 31 dB and response time of 21 ms.

The role of dipole-dipole interaction and the scattering strength in entanglement dynamics between atoms surrounding a microtoroidal cavity

In this work we have shown that the dipole-dipole interaction and the scattering strength have a role in entanglement dynamics between two and three two-level atoms with dipole-dipole interaction coupled to a whispering-gallery-mode (WGM) microtoroidal cavity for a given initial state. For this purpose, we present two different cases where the two atoms are coupled symmetrically or asymmetrically to the two WGMs through evanescent fields. Considering the symmetric regime and two types of initial states for the atoms, we have shown that for the initial entangled state, the sudden death and birth, as well as the freezing of the entanglement, can be obtained by adjusting both the scattering strength between modes and the dipole-dipole interaction, in contraposition to the product initial state. Moreover, we have noted that the atomic entanglement generation is more susceptible to the scattering strength variation between the modes than to the dipole-dipole interaction. In addition, for the asymmetric regime, the entanglement generation is strongly dependent on the atomic location and the scattering strength. Similar results are obtained for the case of three atoms coupled to a microtoroidal cavity, even in the presence of losses.

Free spectral range electrical tuning of a high quality on-chip microcavity.

Reconfigurable photonic circuits have applications ranging from next-generation computer architectures to quantum networks, coherent radar and optical metamaterials. Here, we demonstrate an on-chip high quality microcavity with resonances that can be electrically tuned across a full free spectral range (FSR). FSR tuning allows resonance with any source or emitter, or between any number of networked microcavities. We achieve it by integrating nanoelectronic actuation with strong optomechanical interactions that create a highly geometry-dependent effective refractive index. This allows low voltages and sub-nanowatt power consumption. We demonstrate a basic reconfigurable photonic network, bringing the microcavity into resonance with an arbitrary mode of a microtoroidal optical cavity across a telecommunications fibre link. Our results have applications beyond photonic circuits, including widely tuneable integrated lasers, reconfigurable optical filters for telecommunications and astronomy, and on-chip sensor networks.

Confined whispering-gallery mode in silica double-toroid microcavities for optical sensing and trapping

Abstract We propose and theoretically study a silica double-toroid microcavity to confine the whispering-gallery mode (WGM) in an ultra-small space, which consists of two toroid-to-toroid coupled cavities separated by a nanoscale gap region with low refractive index, such as the air gap. Benefitting from the strong field localization of the “slot” effect, power enhancement of symmetric WGMs in the gap results in the ultra-small mode volume of 4. 8 μ m which is quite smaller than the conventional toroidal microcavity with mode volume of about hundreds of cubic micrometers. The confined modes hold the potential advantages over conventional photonic devices, especially in the applications of the sensing and optical trapping. In the application of refractometer, a high refractive index sensitivity of up to 468 nm per refractive index unit (nm/RIU) can be obtained in the 1000 nm wavelength band. In the optical trapping application, the double-toroid microcavity enables a significant field enhancement in the confined WGM, and the gradient force could reach as high as 22 pN/W for a single nanoparticle with the radius of 5 nm. As the potential advantages, this study of silica double-toroid microcavity provides a good reference for realizing the high-efficient photonic applications such as optical sensing and trapping.

Raman-Kerr frequency combs in Zr-doped silica hybrid microresonators.

Resonant cavity-enhanced Kerr frequency combs have been demonstrated using a range of cavity materials. Regardless of cavity type, one fundamental challenge is achieving low or flat dispersion while maintaining high-efficiency four-wave mixing (FWM). Here we demonstrate a Raman-Kerr frequency comb using a Zr-doped silica hybrid toroidal microcavity. The Zr-doped layer both flattens the dispersion and increases the stimulated Raman scattering efficiency. This enhancement enables the generation of FWM around both the Stokes and anti-Stokes Raman scattering emissions. As a result, the Raman-Kerr frequency comb spans more than 300nm in the near-IR region with less than 5.2mW of input power.

Modelling of Cavity Optomechanical Magnetometers.

Cavity optomechanical magnetic field sensors, constructed by coupling a magnetostrictive material to a micro-toroidal optical cavity, act as ultra-sensitive room temperature magnetometers with tens of micrometre size and broad bandwidth, combined with a simple operating scheme. Here, we develop a general recipe for predicting the field sensitivity of these devices. Several geometries are analysed, with a highest predicted sensitivity of 180 p at 28 m resolution limited by thermal noise in good agreement with previous experimental observations. Furthermore, by adjusting the composition of the magnetostrictive material and its annealing process, a sensitivity as good as 20 p may be possible at the same resolution. This method paves a way for future design of magnetostrictive material based optomechanical magnetometers, possibly allowing both scalar and vectorial magnetometers.

Suppression of optomechanical parametric oscillation in a toroid microcavity assisted by a Kerr comb

We demonstrate the suppression of cavity optomechanical parametric oscillations with the generation of a Turing pattern comb (Kerr comb) in an anomalous dispersion toroidal microcavity. If the pump light alone influences the optomechanical oscillation, it should be amplified because the strong pump light is blue-detuned from the cavity resonance. However, once the Kerr comb was generated, all the comb lines contributed to the cavity optomechanical behavior and the optomechanical oscillation was suppressed. A calculation taking account of the effective damping rate from all the comb lines is in good agreement with the experimental observation.

Exceptional points enhance sensing in an optical microcavity.

Sensors play an important part in many aspects of daily life such as infrared sensors in home security systems, particle sensors for environmental monitoring and motion sensors in mobile phones. High-quality optical microcavities are prime candidates for sensing applications because of their ability to enhance light-matter interactions in a very confined volume. Examples of such devices include mechanical transducers, magnetometers, single-particle absorption spectrometers, and microcavity sensors for sizing single particles and detecting nanometre-scale objects such as single nanoparticles and atomic ions. Traditionally, a very small perturbation near an optical microcavity introduces either a change in the linewidth or a frequency shift or splitting of a resonance that is proportional to the strength of the perturbation. Here we demonstrate an alternative sensing scheme, by which the sensitivity of microcavities can be enhanced when operated at non-Hermitian spectral degeneracies known as exceptional points. In our experiments, we use two nanoscale scatterers to tune a whispering-gallery-mode micro-toroid cavity, in which light propagates along a concave surface by continuous total internal reflection, in a precise and controlled manner to exceptional points. A target nanoscale object that subsequently enters the evanescent field of the cavity perturbs the system from its exceptional point, leading to frequency splitting. Owing to the complex-square-root topology near an exceptional point, this frequency splitting scales as the square root of the perturbation strength and is therefore larger (for sufficiently small perturbations) than the splitting observed in traditional non-exceptional-point sensing schemes. Our demonstration of exceptional-point-enhanced sensitivity paves the way for sensors with unprecedented sensitivity.

Optomechanically tuned electromagnetically induced transparency-like effect in coupled optical microcavities

We experimentally demonstrate the electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT)-like effect using a double-wheel microcavity coupled with a silica microtoroid cavity. To match the resonant modes of the two microcavities, we shift the resonant wavelength of the double-wheel microcavity by 1.5 nm via the optical gradient force. The EIT-like transmission spectrum is precisely controlled by changing the distance and the frequency detuning between the two coupled microcavities.

Vibrations copying optical chaos

Mechanical oscillation in a microtoroidal optical cavity transfers chaos from a pump to a probe laser beam with a different wavelength. Through stochastic resonance, the combination of noise and internal chaotic dynamics leads to amplification of optomechanically induced light self-oscillations.

Detection of Single Nanoparticles Using the Dissipative Interaction in a High-QMicrocavity

Ultrasensitive optical detection of nanometer-scaled particles is highly desirable for applications in early-stage diagnosis of human diseases, environmental monitoring, and homeland security, but remains extremely difficult due to ultralow polarizabilities of small-sized, low-index particles. Optical whispering-gallery-mode microcavities, which can enhance significantly the light-matter interaction, have emerged as promising platforms for label-free detection of nanoscale objects. Different from the conventional whispering-gallery-mode sensing relying on the reactive (i.e., dispersive) interaction, here we propose and demonstrate to detect single lossy nanoparticles using the dissipative interaction in a high-$Q$ toroidal microcavity. In the experiment, detection of single gold nanorods in an aqueous environment is realized by monitoring simultaneously the linewidth change and shift of the cavity mode. The experimental result falls within the theoretical prediction. Remarkably, the reactive and dissipative sensing methods are evaluated by setting the probe wavelength on and off the surface plasmon resonance to tune the absorption of nanorods, which demonstrates clearly the great potential of the dissipative sensing method to detect lossy nanoparticles. Future applications could also combine the dissipative and reactive sensing methods, which may provide better characterizations of nanoparticles.

Generation of Mode-Locked Microcomb with an Ultrahigh-Q Silica Toroidal Microcavity

Generation of Mode-Locked Microcomb with an Ultrahigh-Q Silica Toroidal Microcavity

Entanglement dynamics for three nitrogen-vacancy centers coupled to a whispering-gallery-mode microcavity.

The solid-state qubits based on diamond nitrogen-vacancy centers (NVC) are promising for future quantum information processing. We investigate the dynamics of entanglement among three NVCs coupled to a microtoroidal cavity supporting two counter-propagating whispering-gallery-modes (WGMs) in the presence of Rayleigh scattering. Our results indicate that the maximal entanglement among all the NVCs could be achieved through adjusting several key parameters, such as the scattering-induced coupling between the WGMs, the distance between the NVCs, and the NVC-WGM coupling strengths, as well as the frequency detuning between the NVC and cavity. We show that entanglement of the NVCs displays a series of damped oscillations under various experimental situations, which reflects the intricate interplay and competition between the Rayleigh scattering and the NVC-WGM coupling. The quantum dynamics of the system is obtained via solutions to the corresponding microscopic master equation, which agrees well with the numerical simulation results using the phenomenological master equation. The feasibility of our proposal is supported by the application of currently available experimental techniques.

Superradiant decay and dipole-dipole interaction of distant atoms in a two-way cascaded cavity QED system

We investigate a two-way cascaded cavity QED system consisting of microtoroidal resonators coupled through an optical fiber. Each microtoroidal cavity supports two counterpropagating whispering-gallery modes coupled to single atoms through their evanescent fields. We focus on a pair of atom-microtoroid systems and compute the spectrum of spontaneous emission into the fiber with one atom initially excited. Explicit results are presented for strong-coupling and bad-cavity regimes, where the latter allows the effective atom-atom interaction to be controlled through the atom-cavity coupling and detuning: the atoms exhibit either collective spontaneous emission with no dipole-dipole interaction or a (coherent) dipole-dipole interaction and independent (single-atom) emission. This capacity for switching the character of the interaction is a feature of bidirectional coupling and connects our two-way cascaded system to work on one-dimensional waveguides. Building upon our bad-cavity results, we generalize to many atom-microtoroid systems coupled through an optical fiber.

Titanium-enhanced Raman microcavity laser

Whispering gallery mode microcavities are ideally suited to form microlaser devices because the high circulating intensity within the cavity results in ultralow lasing thresholds. However, to achieve low-threshold Raman lasing in silica devices, it is necessary to have quality factors above 100 million. One approach to circumvent this restriction is to intercalate a sensitizer into the silica, which increases the Raman gain. In the present work, we demonstrate a Raman laser based on a titanium sensitized silica solgel coated toroidal microcavity. By tuning the concentration of the Ti, the Raman efficiency improves over 3× while maintaining sub-mW thresholds.

Guided resonance fluorescence of a single emitter after pulsed excitation

We theoretically investigated a microtoroidal cavity quantum electrodynamics system in which radiation from the emitter is nearly perfectly guided into a fiber mode, and analyzed the resonance fluorescence from the emitter after pulsed excitation. We derived analytic formulas to rigorously evaluate the photon statistics of the pulse emitted into the fiber, and clarified the conditions needed for the excitation pulse to generate single- and two-photon pulses.

Photothermal mapping and free-space laser tuning of toroidal optical microcavities

We report a tuning method for ultrahigh-quality factor toroidal optical microcavities capable of rapid modulation and resonance position control over multiple decades. A free-space laser is focused onto the resonator's silicon support pillar, rapidly heating the mode-containing silica. Microcavity photothermal response is spatially mapped. Resonance shift varies inversely with pillar diameter, reaching 1.5 × 105 fm/mW at 2 μm diameter, allowing switching with 1 μW control power. Larger pillar resonators can be modulated at high speeds (&amp;gt;4 kHz). Heat flow simulations accurately model observed shifts. This versatile approach fulfills an outstanding need for fast, flexible control over toroid resonances.

Monitoring DNA hybridization using optical microcavities

The development of DNA analysis methods is rapidly expanding as interest in characterizing subtle variations increases in biomedicine. A promising approach is based on evanescent field sensors that monitor the hybridization process in real time. However, one challenge is discriminating between nonspecific and specific attachment. Here, we demonstrate a hybridization sensor based on an integrated toroidal optical microcavity. The surface is functionalized with ssDNA using an epoxide method, and the evanescent wave of the microresonator excites a fluorescent label on the complementary ssDNA during hybridization. Based on a temporal analysis, the different binding regimes can be identified.