Abstract

We have observed that very high-Q Mie resonances in silica microspheres are split into doublets. This splitting is attributed to internal backscattering that couples the two degenerate whispering-gallery modes propagating in opposite directions along the sphere equator. We have studied this doublet structure by high-resolution spectroscopy. Time-decay measurements have also been performed and show a beat note corresponding to the coupling rate between the clockwise and counterclockwise modes. A simple model of coupled oscillators describes our data well, and the backscattering efficiency that we measure is consistent with what is observed in optical fibers.

© 1995 Optical Society of America

Mapping whispering-gallery modes in microspheres with a near-field probe

J. C. Knight, N. Dubreuil, V. Sandoghdar, J. Hare, V. Lefèvre-Seguin, J. M. Raimond, and S. Haroche
Opt. Lett. 20(14) 1515-1517 (1995)

Eroded monomode optical fiber for whispering-gallery mode excitation in fused-silica microspheres

N. Dubreuil, J. C. Knight, D. K. Leventhal, V. Sandoghdar, J. Hare, and V. Lefèvre
Opt. Lett. 20(8) 813-815 (1995)

Radiation-pressure-driven vibrational modes in ultrahigh-Q silica microspheres

R. Ma, A. Schliesser, P. Del'Haye, A. Dabirian, G. Anetsberger, and T. J. Kippenberg
Opt. Lett. 32(15) 2200-2202 (2007)

Rayleigh scattering in high-Q microspheres

Michael L. Gorodetsky, Andrew D. Pryamikov, and Vladimir S. Ilchenko
J. Opt. Soc. Am. B 17(6) 1051-1057 (2000)

High-Q measurements of fused-silica microspheres in the near infrared

D. W. Vernooy, V. S. Ilchenko, H. Mabuchi, E. W. Streed, and H. J. Kimble
Opt. Lett. 23(4) 247-249 (1998)