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US 12,281,988 B2Granted
Photonic apparatus, methods, and applications
AssigneeArizona Board of Regents on Behalf of the University of Arizona
InventorsTsu-Te Judith Su, Euan McLeod
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An optical microtoroid resonator including one or more nanoparticles attached to a surface of the resonator and capable of receiving an input signal from afar-field source (via free-space transmission) and outputting light propagating within the optical apparatus. A method for coupling light into and out of an optical resonator using a nanoparticle or nanoparticles to interface with spatially separated far-field optical elements.
Claims8
An optical apparatus for detecting at least one molecule in a sample, comprising:
- a whispering gallery mode optical resonator comprising a curved resonance portion, wherein said curved resonance portion has an outermost rim;
- a first nanoparticle attached at a position on said outermost rim of said curved resonance portion of said whispering gallery mode optical resonator;
- a second nanoparticle attached at a second position on said outermost rim of said curved resonance portion of said whispering gallery mode optical resonator;
- an optical source arranged to illuminate said first nanoparticle with free-space, focused light to avoid illuminating said second nanoparticle and to provide enhanced free-space optical coupling into said whispering gallery mode optical resonator;
- and
- an optical detector arranged to receive free-space light coupled out of said whispering gallery mode optical resonator by said second nanoparticle to provide enhanced free-space outcoupling,
- wherein said first nanoparticle has a structure and composition to provide a plasmonic resonance within an optical frequency band of light to facilitate coupling free-space light into said curved resonance portion of said whispering gallery mode optical resonator, and
- wherein said second nanoparticle has a structure and composition to facilitate coupling free-space light at least one of into or out of said curved resonance portion of said whispering gallery mode optical resonator.
5 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.