Micro-Photonic Resonators: Materials / Geometries / Applications

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The guiding, confining and processing of light using structures with dimensions comparable to the optical wavelength has significantly enhanced our communication, sensing and control capabilities. Greater demands on device performance such as speed and sensitivity along with foot-print and power reduction motivate researchers to explore novel materials and alternate geometries. The optical resonator provides the core functionality of numerous optical devices and is considered an optical configuration suitable to meet and surpass forthcoming device requirements. An important step in the development of next generation resonator based devices is the theoretical analysis of proposed configurations prior to costly prototyping. Numerical simulations of optical devices are rooted in solving Maxwell's equations, an activity supported in this research cycle. The research effort builds on existing custom developed numerical solvers that are efficient in determining the optical properties of resonator states. The existence of symmetry (cylindrical / spherical) imbedded within the resonator geometry and exploitation of resonator state fundamental properties renders the device design and theoretical analysis suitable for desk-top PC environments. To address next generation resonator based devices, the material properties available for research will be extended to include anisotropy, non-linearity, gain, loss and frequency dependence. The intention is to also permit for reconfigurable geometries where external stimuli can tune material properties such as through the electro-optic effect, magneto-optic effect, optical radiation based forces, charge density, and cavity deformation. The additional material properties and geometry combinations will permit advanced configurations to be explored such that next generation device requirements can be reached and surpassed. The advancements in the theoretical capabilities of the numerical solvers are expected to have a significant impact on optical device research and design in areas such as plasmonics, metamaterials, environmental sensing, bio-photonics, micro-structured fibers and automation control. Upon completion it is expected that advances will have been achieved in the refinement of the numerical computation techniques and extended the material properties available to study resonator geometries, have proposed and numerically examined new resonator material-geometry configurations. Iterative and perturbative computation engines will be available. Numerical computation engines will be freely available to all researchers via the internet and promises to streamline the early stages of resonator based device development in Canada and abroad. Considerations will be given to extending the numerical techniques to other areas such as acoustics and quantum mechanics as these fields often overlap with photonics.