Scientists of the Krasnoyarsk Scientific Center of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences have created a metal-dielectric optical microresonator with a controlled Q—factor – a key parameter determining the possibilities of using the device. The research work was carried out within the framework of one of the priority activities of the SEC “Yenisey Siberia” – new industrial technologies.
An optical microresonator is a trap for light in the form of a tiny thickening of optical fiber. Microresonators allow you to accumulate light energy, while having unique properties: compactness, speed and low power consumption. Such devices have great potential for use in high-speed data transmission systems, quantum processors, highly sensitive sensor systems, etc.
“We have developed a microresonator that consists of a photonic crystal and a translucent layer of gold. Mirrors made of photonic crystals have less material losses than metal ones, which affects the main characteristic of the microresonator – Q-factor. The higher the quality of the microresonator, the longer the light is held in it,” said Gavriil Romanenko, one of the authors of the work, an engineer at the Krasnoyarsk Scientific Center SB RAS.
Devices with higher Q-factor can save energy for a longer time and perform their tasks more efficiently. The new design of the microresonator with a photonic crystal made it possible to provide Q-factor control, which in conventional resonators cannot be changed during their use. The maximum Q-factor value during the use of the microresonator changed twice.
“The microresonator with controlled Q—factor proposed by us can be used to create energy-efficient photonics devices, for example, microlazers, perfect light absorbers and sensors,” concluded Pavel Pankin, a researcher at the L. V. Kirensky Institute of Physics of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Candidate of Physical and Mathematical Sciences.
It should be noted that the research work was also attended by researchers from the Siberian Federal University, Reshetnev University, JSC NPP Radiosvyaz, LLC SPC Spetstechnauka and the National University of Qin Hua (Taiwan).