2018-052 – Compact Solid State Optical Resonator Devices Based on Simple Melting and Moulding (Fabrication) Methods

Background An optical cavity or optical resonator is a component that recirculates light in a closed volume and enables extremely narrow spectral response and optical power build up in a small volume. These devices are typically used as filters, sensors and platforms for a wide range of optical sources. By tailoring the resonator shape, size or material composition, the microresonator can be designed to support a spectrum of optical (i.e., electromagnetic) modes with required polarization, frequency and emission patterns. Cylindrically symmetric solid state optical resonators (in particular based on silica and silicon) have been fabricated by a variety of methods in the past, most notably by polishing, melting glass particles, and melting microspheres at the ends of fibers, melting microtoroids on top of silicon pillars and lithographic and chemical etching methods. These conventional fabrication techniques can often result in very high fabrication costs or high scattering losses in the resonator (for those that are chemically etched). There is an industrial need for a reliable, low cost and fast fabrication process that provides ease of shaping for ultra-low loss cylindrically symmetric optical resonators. Technology Description Researchers at the University of New Mexico have developed a simple process to fabricate cylindrically symmetric solid state optical resonator devices. This technique offers ease, reliability, and low cost fabrication of optical microresonator and macroresonator devices. This process incorporates surface tension to achieve very low loss resonators with near-arbitrary side-wall shape. More specifically, this process provides ease of fabricating optical microresonators and macroresonators with different shapes and therefore dispersion properties. The ability to easily tailor the dispersion properties is crucial for optical devices such as nonlinear optical mixers and high frequency soliton comb generators. Andrew Roerick aroerick@innovations.unm.edu 505-277-0608