Seminar 'Q-factor and finesse control of active microresonators'

Speaker:
Professor Patrice Feron and Dr. Yannick Dumeige, ENSSAT-FOTON, France

Seminar Title:
Q-factor and finesse control of active microresonators

Abstract:
High-Q and ultra-high-Q factor optical microresonators have a lot of applications in nonlinear optics, optical signal processing or optical sensing. In this talk we show that the use of active optical microresonators allows their Q-factors to be controlled and enhanced. We will review two techniques illustrated by two examples: i) using optical gain in erbium doped whispering gallery mode microspheres, ultra-high finesses such as 40 millions can be obtained; ii) combining slow-light and nonlinear effects, the cavity lifetime of semiconductor microcavities is enhanced by two orders of magnitude.