2024/12/03 by Shuang Hao, Judith Su · 1 voice · 1 citation
Engineering · Physics and Astronomy · #Photonic and Optical Devices #Mechanical and Optical Resonators #Advanced Fiber Laser Technologies
paper · doi:10.1088/1361-6633/ad99e7
openalex publication_date 2024/12/03 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/15
Sensors are important for a wide variety of applications include medical diagnostics and environmental monitoring. Due to their long photon confinement times, whispering gallery mode (WGM) sensors are among the most sensitive sensors currently in existence. We briefly discuss what are WGM sensors, the principles of WGM sensing, and the history of the field, beginning with Mie theory. We discuss recent work in the field on using these WGM resonators as sensors, focusing particularly on biological and chemical sensing applications. We discuss how sensorgrams are acquired and fundamental measurement limits. In addition, we discuss how to interpret binding curves and extract physical parameters such as binding affinity constants. We discuss the controversy surrounding single-molecule detection and discuss hybrid WGM nanoparticle sensors. In addition, we place these sensors in context with others sensing technologies both labeled and label-free. Finally, we discuss what we believe are the most promising applications for these devices, outline remaining challenges, and provide an outlook for the future.