In-Fiber Polymer Microdisk Resonator and Its Sensing Applications of Temperature and Humidity

We proposed and realized an all-in-fiber polymer microdisk whispering-gallery mode (WGM) resonator, which is composed of a nanoscale polymer waveguide in conjunction with a polymer microdisk. The resonator is manufactured by femtosecond laser-induced two-photon polymerization inside a single-mode optical fiber, and its transmission spectrum has been investigated theoretically and experimentally. The WGM resonance was excited successfully, exhibiting a high Q factor of 2.3 × 103 at a resonant wavelength of 1416.6 nm. The temperature and humidity responses of the resonator were tested as examples of possible application. Temperature sensitivity of −96 pm/°C when the temperature increased from 25 to 60 °C and humidity sensitivity of 54 pm/%RH when the relative humidity increased from 30 to 90% were obtained. The proposed in-fiber microdisk resonator is highly suitable for detection of microorganisms, bacteria, and single molecules.