Highly Oblate Microspheroid as an Optical Resonator

Experiments have shown that a highly oblate microspheroid made of low-dielectric-loss silica glass can function as a high-performance optical resonator. The shape of this resonator (see figure) is intermediate between that of (1) microdisk or microring resonators and (2) microsphere resonators, which have been described in a number of previous NASA Tech Briefs articles. As described below, the oblate spheroidal shape results in large values of both resonance quality factor (Q) and finesse. Large values of these parameters are favorable for single-mode operation of a laser or an optoelectronic oscillator.