Demonstration of versatile whispering-gallery micro-lasers for remote refractive index sensing

Lei Wan, Hengky Chandrahalim, Jian Zhou, Zhaohui Li, Cong Chen, Sangha Cho, Hui Zhang, Ting Mei, Huiping Tian, Yuji Oki, Naoya Nishimura, Xudong Fan, L. Jay Guo

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

14 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

We developed chip-scale remote refractive index sensors based on Rhodamine 6G (R6G)-doped polymer micro-ring lasers. The chemical, temperature, and mechanical sturdiness of the fused-silica host guaranteed a flexible deployment of dye-doped polymers for refractive index sensing. The introduction of the dye as gain medium demonstrated the feasibility of remote sensing based on the free-space optics measurement setup. Compared to the R6G-doped TZ-001, the lasing behavior of R6G-doped SU-8 polymer micro-ring laser under an aqueous environment had a narrower spectrum linewidth, producing the minimum detectable refractive index change of 4 × 10−4 RIU. The maximum bulk refractive index sensitivity (BRIS) of 75 nm/RIU was obtained for SU-8 laser-based refractive index sensors. The economical, rapid, and simple realization of polymeric micro-scale whispering-gallery-mode (WGM) laser-based refractive index sensors will further expand pathways of static and dynamic remote environmental, chemical, biological, and bio-chemical sensing.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)5800-5809
Number of pages10
JournalOptics Express
Volume26
Issue number5
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Mar 5 2018

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics

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