All-optical switching and strong coupling using tunable whispering-gallery-mode microresonators

We review our recent work on tunable, ultrahigh quality factor whispering-gallery-mode bottle microresonators and highlight their applications in nonlinear optics and in quantum optics experiments. Our resonators combine ultra-high quality factors of up to Q = 3.6 \times 10^8, a small mode volume, and near-lossless fiber coupling, with a simple and customizable mode structure enabling full tunability. We study, theoretically and experimentally, nonlinear all-optical switching via the Kerr effect when the resonator is operated in an add-drop configuration. This allows us to optically route a single-wavelength cw optical signal between two fiber ports with high efficiency. Finally, we report on progress towards strong coupling of single rubidium atoms to an ultra-high Q mode of an actively stabilized bottle microresonator.Comment: 20 pages, 24 figures. Accepted for publication in Applied Physics B. Changes according to referee suggestions: minor corrections to some figures and captions, clarification of some points in the text, added references, added new paragraph with results on atom-resonator interactio

Micro-combs: a novel generation of optical sources

The quest towards the integration of ultra-fast, high-precision optical clocks is reflected in the large number of high-impact papers on the topic published in the last few years. This interest has been catalysed by the impact that high-precision optical frequency combs (OFCs) have had on metrology and spectroscopy in the last decade [1–5]. OFCs are often referred to as optical rulers: their spectra consist of a precise sequence of discrete and equally-spaced spectral lines that represent precise marks in frequency. Their importance was recognised worldwide with the 2005 Nobel Prize being awarded to T.W. Hänsch and J. Hall for their breakthrough in OFC science [5]. They demonstrated that a coherent OFC source with a large spectrum – covering at least one octave – can be stabilised with a self-referenced approach, where the frequency and the phase do not vary and are completely determined by the source physical parameters. These fully stabilised OFCs solved the challenge of directly measuring optical frequencies and are now exploited as the most accurate time references available, ready to replace the current standard for time. Very recent advancements in the fabrication technology of optical micro-cavities [6] are contributing to the development of OFC sources. These efforts may open up the way to realise ultra-fast and stable optical clocks and pulsed sources with extremely high repetition-rates, in the form of compact and integrated devices. Indeed, the fabrication of high-quality factor (high-Q) micro-resonators, capable of dramatically amplifying the optical field, can be considered a photonics breakthrough that has boosted not only the scientific investigation of OFC sources [7–13] but also of optical sensors and compact light modulators [6,14]

Adaptive on-chip control of nano-optical fields with optoplasmonic vortex nanogates

A major challenge for plasmonics as an enabling technology for quantum information processing is the realization of active spatio-temporal control of light on the nanoscale. The use of phase-shaped pulses or beams enforces specific requirements for on-chip integration and imposes strict design limitations. We introduce here an alternative approach, which is based on exploiting the strong sub-wavelength spatial phase modulation in the near-field of resonantly-excited high-Q optical microcavities integrated into plasmonic nanocircuits. Our theoretical analysis reveals the formation of areas of circulating powerflow (optical vortices) in the near-fields of optical microcavities, whose positions and mutual coupling can be controlled by tuning the microcavities parameters and the excitation wavelength. We show that optical powerflow though nanoscale plasmonic structures can be dynamically molded by engineering interactions of microcavity-induced optical vortices with noble-metal nanoparticles. The proposed strategy of re-configuring plasmonic nanocircuits via locally-addressable photonic elements opens the way to develop chip-integrated optoplasmonic switching architectures, which is crucial for implementation of quantum information nanocircuits.Comment: 11 pages, 5 figure

Determination of ethinylestradiol and levonorgestrel in oral contraceptives with HPLC methods with UV detection and UV/fluorescence detection

Oral contraceptives are pharmaceutical formulations containing an estrogen in a small amount and a synthetic progestin in 5-30 times bigger amount. A sensitive, accurate and rapid method for determination of active compounds is required. We have developed HPLC methods for determination of ethinylestradiol (EED) and levonorgestrel (LNG) in commercially available tablets. Chromatographic separation was performed on a Purospher® STAR RP-18e reversed-phase column (150 X 4.0 mm I.D.; particle size 5 μm) in an isocratic mode with a mobile phase constituted of 47% acetonitrile: 53% water (V/V) for both methods. The elution was carried out at a flow rate of 1.50 ml /min. All analyses were performed at room temperature (24 +/- 2°C). In the HPLC method with UV detection (internal standard method) both compounds were detected at 215 nm. Drospirenone was used as an internal standard. In HPLC method with UV/fluorescence detection (external standard method) LNG was monitored at 242 nm, while EED was detected with fluorescence detector at 310 nm (excitation 285 nm). The methods’ performances were fully validated by a determination of linearity, reproducibility, accuracy and sensitivity. Both methods were applied for determination of Uniformity of Dosage Units. The results obtained with both methods were highly comparable. However, the HPLC method with UV/ fluorescence detection has showed superior sensitivity for EED indicated by 83 times lower detection limit. HPLC method with UV/ fluorescence detection could be recommended as a method of choice for determination of ethinylestradiol, present at a very low dosage level in low-dose oral contraceptives, that also contain bigger amount of synthetic progestin