2011/09/14 by M. Sumetsky, J. M. Fini · 2 citations
Computer Science · Engineering · Physics and Astronomy · #Attenuation #Mechanical and Optical Resonators #Nanoscopic scale #Neural Networks and Reservoir Computing #Optical fiber #Photonic and Optical Devices #Photonic-crystal fiber #Photonics #Surface finish #Surface roughness #Whispering-gallery wave #physics.optics
paper · pdf · doi:10.1364/oe.19.026470
arxiv created 2011/09/14 · openalex publication_date 2011/12/13 · arxiv updated 2015/05/29 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
Dense photonic integration promises to revolutionize optical computing and communications. However, efforts towards this goal face unacceptable attenuation of light caused by surface roughness in microscopic devices. Here we address this problem by introducing Surface Nanoscale Axial Photonics (SNAP). The SNAP platform is based on whispering gallery modes circulating around the optical fiber surface and undergoing slow axial propagation readily described by the one-dimensional Schrödinger equation. These modes can be steered with dramatically small nanoscale variation of the fiber radius, which is quite simple to introduce in practice. Extremely low loss of SNAP devices is achieved due to the low surface roughness inherent in a drawn fiber surface. In excellent agreement with the developed theory, we experimentally demonstrate localization of light in quantum wells, halting light by a point source, tunneling through potential barriers, dark states, etc. This demonstration has intriguing potential applications in filtering, switching, slowing light, and sensing.