High sensitivity nanoparticle detection using optical microcavities

We demonstrate a highly sensitive nanoparticle and virus detection method by using a thermal-stabilized reference interferometer in conjunction with an ultrahigh-Q microcavity. Sensitivity is sufficient to resolve shifts caused by binding of individual nanobeads in solution down to a record radius of 12.5 nm, a size approaching that of single protein molecules. A histogram of wavelength shift versus nanoparticle radius shows that particle size can be inferred from shift maxima. Additionally, the signal-to-noise ratio for detection of Influenza A virus is enhanced to 38:1 from the previously reported 3:1. The method does not use feedback stabilization of the probe laser. It is also observed that the conjunction of particle-induced backscatter and optical-path-induced shifts can be used to enhance detection signal-to-noise

Vectorial whispering gallery mode solvers based on straight waveguide modes

In this paper, whispering gallery mode solvers based on a set of corresponding straight waveguide modes are proposed. The solvers project whispering gallery modes onto a linear combination of straight waveguide modes through a cavity residual operator eigensolution formalism and direct straight waveguide expansion procedures. With these implementations, a perfectly matched layer can be imposed at the cavity computation window edges automatically and optical properties of plain and metal coated silica microtoroids can be analyzed from a novel viewpoint. Additionally, the techniques can be employed in cavity mode matching methods for the modelling of cavities that strongly scatter light