Abstract
This study proposes a thermal sensor based on whispering gallery modes (WGMs) in a polymer core optical ring resonator (PCORR). The thermal sensitivity and detection limit (i.e., the temperature resolution) for WGMs of various orders and polarizations are theoretically studied as a function of the ring wall thickness. The results show that the temperature detection limits can be as low as 4 × 10-5 and 6 × 10-6 K for laser linewidths of 2 and 0.3 MHz, respectively. The ultrahigh temperature resolution makes the PCORR a very promising platform for temperature measurement. The analysis also shows that the WGM of a lower order has better thermal sensing performance and a thinner optimal thickness of the ring resonator.
Original language | English |
---|---|
Pages (from-to) | 6254-6260 |
Number of pages | 7 |
Journal | Applied Optics |
Volume | 50 |
Issue number | 33 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 20 Nov 2011 |