Versatile waveguide-coupled optofluidic devices based on liquid core optical ring resonators

Abstract

A versatile waveguide-coupled optofluidic device using the liquid core optical ring resonator (LCORR) that can be operated with liquid of any refractive index (RI) is theoretically analyzed and experimentally demonstrated. The results confirm the confinement of resonant modes for all sample RIs, and reveal that confined modes in a high-RI core are excited by an external waveguide by resonant tunneling through the LCORR wall. It is further found that a thin wall must be used for effective interaction between the core mode and the waveguide. The results have important applications in optofluidic devices, including sensors, microfluidic lasers, and nonlinear optics.