Optical resonators

High-Q MgF$_2$ whispering gallery mode resonators for refractometric sensing in aqueous environment

We present our experiments on refractometric sensing with ultrahigh-Q, crystalline, birefringent magnesium fluoride (MgF_2) whispering gallery mode resonators. The difference to fused silica which is most commonly used for sensing experiments is the …

Identifying modes of large whispering-gallery mode resonators from the spectrum and emission pattern

Identifying the mode numbers in whispering-gallery mode resonators (WGMRs) is important for tailoring them to experimental needs. Here we report on a novel experimental mode analysis technique based on the combination of frequency analysis and …

Whispering gallery modes at the rim of an axisymmetric optical resonator: Analytical versus numerical description and comparison with experiment

Optical whispering gallery modes (WGMs) of mm-sized axisymmetric resonators are well localized at the equator. Employing this distinctive feature, we obtain simple analytical relations for the frequencies and eigenfunctions of WGMs which include the …

Experimental characterization of an uniaxial angle cut whispering gallery mode resonator

The usual configuration of uniaxial whispering gallery mode resonators is a disk shaped geometry where the optic axis points along the symmetry axis, a so called z-cut resonator. Recently x-cut resonators, where the optic axis lies in the equatorial …

Microwave whispering-gallery resonator for efficient optical up-conversion

Conversion of microwave radiation into the optical range has been predicted to reach unity quantum efficiency in whispering-gallery resonators made from an optically nonlinear crystal and supporting microwave and optical modes simultaneously. In this …

Dramatic shape sensitivity of directional emission patterns from similarly deformed cylindrical polymer lasers

Recent experiments on similarly shaped polymer microcavity lasers show a dramatic difference in the far-field emission patterns. We show, for different deformations of the ellipse, quadrupole and hexadecapole, that the large differences in the …

Gaussian-optical approach to stable periodic orbit resonances of partially chaotic dielectric micro-cavities

The quasi-bound modes localized on stable periodic ray orbits of dielectric micro-cavities are constructed in the short-wavelength limit using the parabolic equation method. These modes are shown to coexist with irregularly spaced �??chaotic�?? modes …