Real-time imaging of standing-wave patterns in microresonators

Yan, Haochen and Ghosh, Alekhya and Pal, Arghadeep and Zhang, Hao and Bi, Toby and Ghalanos, George and Zhang, Shuangyou and Hill, Lewis and Zhang, Yaojing and Zhuang, Yongyong and Xavier, Jolly and Del’Haye, Pascal (2024) Real-time imaging of standing-wave patterns in microresonators. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 121 (10). e2313981121. ISSN 1091-6490 (https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2313981121)

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Abstract

Real-time characterization of microresonator dynamics is important for many applications. In particular, it is critical for near-field sensing and understanding light–matter interactions. Here, we report camera-facilitated imaging and analysis of standing wave patterns in optical ring resonators. The standing wave pattern is generated through bidirectional pumping of a microresonator, and the scattered light from the microresonator is collected by a short-wave infrared (SWIR) camera. The recorded scattering patterns are wavelength dependent, and the scattered intensity exhibits a linear relation with the circulating power within the microresonator. By modulating the relative phase between the two pump waves, we can control the generated standing waves’ movements and characterize the resonator with the SWIR camera. The visualized standing wave enables subwavelength distance measurements of scattering targets with nanometer-level accuracy. This work opens broad avenues for applications in on-chip near-field (bio)sensing, real-time characterization of photonic integrated circuits, and backscattering control in telecom systems.