Dispersion analysis of whispering gallery mode microbubble resonators

Abstract

This paper examines the opportunities existing for engineering dispersion in non-silica whispering gallery mode microbubble resonators, for applications such as optical frequency comb generation. More specifically, the zero dispersion wavelength is analyzed as a function of microbubble diameter and wall thickness for several different material groups such as highly-nonlinear soft glasses, polymers and crystalline materials. The zero dispersion wavelength is shown to be highly-tunable by changing the thickness of the shell. Using certain materials it is shown that dispersion equalization can be realized at interesting wavelengths such as deep within the visible or mid-infrared, opening up new possibilities for optical frequency comb generation. This study represents the first extensive analysis of the prospects of using non-silica microbubbles for nonlinear optics.