Optical devices having WGM cavity coupled to side-polished port

• US 7,085,452 B1
• Filed: 03/18/2004
• Issued: 08/01/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 03/21/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Intelligent Fiber Optic Systems Corporation
• Original Assignee: I FOS Incorporated
• Inventors: Pi, Bo, Lin, Wei-Cheng Wilson
• Primary Examiner(s): Healy, Brian
• Assistant Examiner(s): BLEVINS, JERRY M
• Application Number:
  US10/804,279
• Time in Patent Office: 866 Days
• Field of Search: 385/12, 385/14, 385 27- 31, 385 39- 42, 385129-131
• US Class Current: 385/39
• CPC Class Codes: G01K 11/32 using changes in transmittance, scattering or luminescence in optical fibres
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 21/7746 the waveguide coupled to a cavity resonator
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2006/12107 Grating
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/022 using mechanical stress, e.g. tuning by compression or elongation, special geometrical shapes such as "dog-bone" or taper G02B6/02204 takes precedence; optical modulation using photo-elastic effect G02F1/0131
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/2852 using tapping light guides arranged sidewardly, e.g. in a non-parallel relationship with respect to the bus light guides (light extraction or launching through cladding, with or without surface discontinuities, bent structures)
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/29341 Loop resonators operating in a whispering gallery mode evanescently coupled to a light guide, e.g. sphere or disk or cylinder evanescent coupling for sensing fluorescence G01N21/648
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/30 for use between fibre and thin-film device
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/34 utilising prism or grating G02B6/293 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/4215 the intermediate optical elements being wavelength selective optical elements, e.g. variable wavelength optical modules or wavelength lockers G02B6/4246 takes precedence

Abstract

Optical devices having at least one whispering gallery mode cavity formed on a side-polished coupling port of a fiber or waveguide based on evanescent coupling are described.

Claims

1. A device, comprising:

a fiber having a side surface formed on fiber cladding where an evanescent field of guided light in said fiber exists; and

a planar whispering gallery mode cavity formed on said side surface to support one or more whispering gallery modes and configured to evanescently extract energy in light guided in said fiber into a whispering gallery mode;

said planar whispering gallery mode cavity comprising a top cladding ring, a cavity ring, and a bottom cladding ring having a planar coupling surface, said bottom cladding ring coupled to said evanescent field of guided light.

2. The device as in claim 1, where said bottom cladding ring is in contact with said side surface, and said cavity layer ring has an index higher than said top and said bottom cladding rings.

3. The device as in claim 1, wherein said cavity is a ring planar surface is coplanar to said side surface.

4. The device as in claim 1, wherein said cavity ring is a planar disk having an inner radius and an outer radius, one surface of said disk being coplanar to said side surface.

5. The device as in claim 1, further comprising a second planar whispering gallery mode cavity formed on said side surface to evanescently couple to said fiber, wherein said second whispering gallery mode cavity is spatially close to said whispering gallery mode cavity to allow for evanescent coupling with said whispering gallery mode cavity.

6. The device of claim 1, further comprising a planar dump waveguide coupled to said whispering gallery mode cavity to evanescently couple light in said whispering gallery mode out of said whispering gallery mode cavity, where said dump waveguide couples to said cavity ring using a surface perpendicular to said planar surface.

7. The device as in claim 1, wherein said whispering gallery mode cavity is located off a center of a fiber core of said fiber with respect to said planar surface.

8. The device as in claim 1, further comprising a sensing unit coupled to said fiber to receive light guided in said fiber and to measure a change in optical coupling between said whispering gallery mode cavity and said fiber due to an environmental change.

9. The device as in claim 8, wherein said sensing unit comprises a processing unit to process the measured change to extract information on a temperature.

10. The device as in claim 8, wherein said sensing unit comprises a processing unit to process the measured change to extract information on a pressure.

11. The device as in claim 8, wherein said sensing unit comprises a processing unit to process the measured change to extract information on a refractive index of an external medium surrounding said whispering gallery mode cavity.

12. A device, comprising:

an optical waveguide having a side surface where an evanescent field of guided light in said waveguide is present; and

a planar whispering gallery mode cavity formed on said side surface to support one or more whispering gallery modes and configured to evanescently extract energy in light guided in said waveguide into a whispering gallery mode,

where said planar whispering gallery mode cavity comprises a top cladding ring, a cavity ring, and a bottom cladding ring having a planar coupling surface, said bottom cladding ring coupled to said evanescent field of guided light.

13. The device as in claim 12, further comprising a second whispering gallery mode cavity formed on said side surface to evanescently couple to said waveguide.

14. The device as in claim 13, wherein said second whispering gallery mode cavity is spatially close to said whispering gallery mode cavity to allow for evanescent coupling directly from said whispering gallery mode cavity to said second whispering gallery mode cavity.

15. The device as in claim 14, further comprising third and fourth whispering gallery mode cavities both coupled to said side surface to evanescently couple to said waveguide, wherein said third and fourth whispering gallery mode cavities are close to each other to be optically coupled to each other via evanescent coupling.

16. The device as in claim 15, wherein said first, said second, said third, and said fourth whispering gallery mode cavities operate in sequence on optical energy in said waveguide, and said first and said second whispering gallery mode cavities are spaced from said third and said fourth whispering gallery mode cavities so that said first and said second whispering gallery mode cavities do not directly optically couple with said third and said fourth whispering gallery mode cavities.

17. The device as in claim 13, wherein said second whispering gallery mode cavity is spaced from said first whispering gallery mode cavity and is not in direct optical coupling with said first whispering gallery mode cavity, and wherein said second whispering gallery mode cavity has a resonance wavelength different from a resonance wavelength in said first whispering gallery mode cavity.

18. The device as in claim 12, further comprising a sensing unit coupled to said waveguide to receive light guided in said waveguide and to measure a change in optical coupling between said whispering gallery mode cavity and said waveguide caused by an environmental change.

19. A device, comprising:

a fiber having a portion of fiber cladding and a portion of underlying fiber core removed to form a flat surface;

a pair of whispering gallery mode cavities optically coupled to each other and optically coupled to said flat surface;

each said planar whispering gallery mode cavity comprising a planar cavity ring surrounded on both sides by planar cladding rings, at least one of said cladding rings has a planar surface and is coupled to said side surface; and

a sensing unit to measure a parameter in reflected light from said pair of whispering gallery mode cavities to measure an environmental effect affecting optical coupling of said pair of whispering gallery mode cavities.

20. A device, comprising:

a fiber having a portion of fiber cladding and a portion of underlying fiber core removed to form a flat surface;

a pair of whispering gallery mode cavities optically coupled to each other and optically coupled to said flat surface; and

a sensing unit to measure a parameter in reflected light from said pair of whispering gallery mode cavities to measure an environmental effect affecting optical coupling of said pair of whispering gallery mode cavities;

further comprising a housing unit which comprises;

a chamber to hold a section of said fiber that has said flat surface and said pair of whispering gallery mode cavities, and

a movable diaphragm in said chamber to transmit pressure to said pair of whispering gallery mode cavities in response to a pressure applied to the diaphragm.

21. A method, comprising:

providing a fiber sensor in a fiber which comprises a side surface formed on fiber cladding, and at least one planar whispering gallery mode cavity that is in evanescent coupling with the fiber through the side suraface;

said planar whispering gallery mode cavity comprising a planar cavity ring surrounded on both sides by planar cladding rings, at least one of said cladding rings has a planar surface and is coupled to said side surface;

exposing the fiber sensor to an external medium to cause a change at the at least one whispering gallery mode cavity;

monitoring a change in guided light caused by the at least one whispering gallery mode cavity; and

extracting information about the external medium based on the change.

22. The method as in claim 21, wherein the information about the external medium includes a temperature in the external medium.

23. The method as in claim 21, wherein the information about the external medium includes a pressure in the external medium.

24. The method of claim 21, wherein the information about the external medium includes a presence of a selected material.