BROAD RANGE RADIATION DETECTOR BASED ON SPECTRUM SHIFTS OF OPTO-MECHANICAL MICROCAVITY

This DoD ARO SBIR 2012 Phase II Project is aimed at the development of a micro-optical ultra-sensitive, room temperature detector for the far infrared (FIR) and terahertz (THz) bands of electromagnetic radiation. The sensor relies on monitoring optical resonances commonly known as Whispering Gallery Modes (WGM) of dielectric micro cavities. In Phase I, an operational model for this WGM radiation detector was developed. Model calculations demonstrated high potential of the technology for ultra-sensitive detection of FIR-THz radiation using a sensor of a sub-millimeter size. A breadboard prototype developed in Phase I was capable of measuring THz radiation power at least an order of magnitude smaller than that detectable by a state-of-the-art THz detector. Phase II effort will concentrate on systematic studies of the detector characteristics as a function of structural parameters such as geometry, size, and material of the microcavity, the development of integrated deployable detector prototype, and investigation into robustness and reliability issues in the context of a field sensor. An imaging experiment with a biological system with a concealed foreign object will demonstrate the detector spatial recognition capabilities. An exploratory study for assembling WGM micro-cavities in 1D and 2D arrays will outline the technology prospective.