Abstract

A coupled optofluidic ring laser sensor is fabricated, and its ultrasensitive bulk refractive index and surface mass sensing properties are demonstrated. The sensor consists of a cylindrical ring laser and a thin-walled optofluidic capillary ring resonator. Coupling of the whispering gallery mode in the two resonators generates a largely magnified sensitivity due to the Vernier effect. A sensitivity of $2510\mathrm{nm}/\mathrm{RIU}$ and magnification factor of 355 are achieved experimentally in aqueous solution, which corresponds to a noise equivalent detection limit of $1.6\times {10}^{-5}\mathrm{RIU}$ for bulk RI detection. The new sensor configuration provides a convenient way to achieve ultrasensitive biological and chemical sensing.

© 2012 Optical Society of America

Coupled optofluidic ring laser for ultrahigh- sensitive sensing

Xingwang Zhang, Liqiang Ren, Xiang Wu, Hao Li, Liying Liu, and Lei Xu
Opt. Express 19(22) 22242-22247 (2011)

Ultraviolet single-frequency coupled optofluidic ring resonator dye laser

Xin Tu, Xiang Wu, Ming Li, Liying Liu, and Lei Xu
Opt. Express 20(18) 19996-20001 (2012)

Liquid-core optical ring-resonator sensors

Ian M. White, Hesam Oveys, and Xudong Fan
Opt. Lett. 31(9) 1319-1321 (2006)

Fluorescent polymer coated capillaries as optofluidic refractometric sensors

Kristopher J. Rowland, Alexandre François, Peter Hoffmann, and Tanya M. Monro
Opt. Express 21(9) 11492-11505 (2013)

Rapid chemical-vapor sensing using optofluidic ring resonators

Yuze Sun, Siyka I. Shopova, Greg Frye-Mason, and Xudong Fan
Opt. Lett. 33(8) 788-790 (2008)