Whispering Gallery Mode Resonator Sensors Referenced to Saturated Absorption Lines in Rubidium Atoms and a fs Frequency Comb

Optical Whispering Gallery Mode Resonators (WGMR) can be produced by many methods, for example, by flame melting of silica fibers [1], by polishing of crystals [2], by optical lithography, by solidifying transparent materials, or using commercially available microspheres. They confine light by the total internal reflection and do not need mirror coatings. A part of radiation is traveling outside the WGMR as an evanescent wave and it is used for sensing applications. WGMRs are becoming increasingly popular as biosensors [3] when their surface is covered with antibodies to provide selectivity. Advantage is that light circulates in the resonator and interacts many times with a few molecules attaching to the surface, yielding to a very sensitive detection similar to cavity ring down spectroscopy [4].