Skip to main content
Log in

Highly sensitive tuning of coupled optical ring resonators by microfluidics

  • Short Communication
  • Published:
Microfluidics and Nanofluidics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The authors develop optofluidic coupled ring resonator (OCRR) system in which one of the ring resonators serves as a microfluidic channel. Highly sensitive tuning of the OCRR is demonstrated by making small changes in the refractive index of the fluid. A refractometric sensing scheme using the OCRR is proposed and demonstrated, allowing for measuring a refractive index change down to 10−9 refractive index units, two orders of magnitude better than a single ring resonator.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Chao CY, Guo LJ (2003) Biochemical sensors based on polymer microrings with sharp asymmetrical resonance. Appl Phys Lett 83:1527–1529

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kurt H, Citrin DS (2005) Coupled-resonator optical waveguides for biochemical sensing of nanoliter volumes of analyte in the terahertz region. Appl Phys Lett 87:241119

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Levy U, Campbell K, Groisman A, Mookherjea S, Fainman Y (2006) On-chip microfluidic tuning of an optical microring resonator. Appl Phys Lett 88:111107

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maleki L, Matsko AB, Savchenkov AA, Ilchenko VS (2004) Tunable delay line with interacting whispering-gallery-mode resonators. Opt Lett 29:626–628

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mario LY, Chin MK (2008) Optical buffer with higher delay-bandwidth product in a two-ring system. Opt Express 16:1796–1807

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Naweed A, Farca G, Shopova SI, Rosenberger AT (2005) Induced transparency and absorption in coupled whispering-gallery microresonators. Phys Rev A 71:043804

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Paloczi GT, Scheuer J, Yariv A (2005) Compact microring-based wavelength-selective inline optical reflector. IEEE Photonics Technol Lett 17:390–392

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Passaro VMN, De Leonardis F (2006) Modeling and design of a novel high-sensitivity electric field silicon-on-insulator sensor based on a whispering-gallery-mode resonator. IEEE J Selected Top Quantum Electron 12:124–133

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Psaltis D, Quake SR, Yang C (2006) Developing optofluidic technology through the fusion of microfluidics and optics. Nature 442:381–386

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sandhu S, Povinelli ML, Fan S (2007) Stopping and time reversing a light pulse using dynamic loss tuning of coupled-resonator delay lines. Opt Lett 32:3333–3335

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Scheuer J, Yariv A (2006) Sagnac effect in coupled-resonator slow-light waveguide structures. Phys Rev Lett 96:053901

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Scheuer J, Paloczi GT, Yariv A (2005) All optically tunable wavelength-selective reflector consisting of coupled polymeric microring resonators. Appl Phys Lett 87:251102

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith DD, Chang H, Fuller KA (2003) Whispering-gallery mode splitting in coupled microresonators. J Opt Soc Am B Opt Phys 20:1967–1974

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Suter JD, White IM, Zhu H, Fan X (2007) Thermal characterization of liquid core optical ring resonator sensors. Appl Opt 46:389–396

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Totsuka K, Kobayashi N, Tomita M (2007) Slow light in coupled-resonator-induced transparency. Phys Rev Lett 98:213904

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • White IM, Oveys H, Fan X (2006) Liquid-core optical ring-resonator sensors. Opt Lett 31:1319–1321

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Xiao YF, Gaddam V, Yang L (2008) Coupled optical microcavities: an enhanced refractometric sensing configuration. Opt Express 16:12538–12543

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Xu Q, Shakya J, Lipson M (2006) Direct measurement of tunable optical delays on chip analogue to electromagnetically induced transparency. Opt Express 14:6463–6468

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Xu Q, Dong P, Lipson M (2007) Breaking the delay-bandwidth limit in a photonic structure. Nat Phys 3:406–410

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yanik MF, Fan S (2007) Slow light—dynamic photon storage. Nat Phys 3:372–374

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yanik MF, Suh W, Wang Z, Fan SH (2004) Stopping light in a waveguide with an all-optical analog of electromagnetically induced transparency. Phys Rev Lett 93:233903

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge the support from the Wallace Coulter Foundation Early Career Award and National Science Foundation-CAREER (CBET-0747398).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Xudong Fan.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Shopova, S.I., Sun, Y., Rosenberger, A.T. et al. Highly sensitive tuning of coupled optical ring resonators by microfluidics. Microfluid Nanofluid 6, 425–429 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10404-008-0372-7

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10404-008-0372-7

Keywords

Navigation