title: Accurate determination of the quality factor and tunneling distance of axisymmetric resonators for biosensing applications.
abstract: Due to ultra high quality factor (10(6) - 10(9)), axisymmetric optical microcavities are popular platforms for biosensing applications. It has been recently demonstrated that a microcavity biosensor can track a biodetection event as a function of its quality factor by using phase shift cavity ring down spectroscopy (PS-CRDS). However, to achieve maximum sensitivity, it is necessary to optimize the microcavity parameters for a given sensing application. Here, we introduce an improved finite element model which allows us to determine the optimized geometry for the PS-CRDS sensor. The improved model not only provides fast and accurate determination of quality factors but also determines the tunneling distance of axisymmetric resonators. The improved model is validated numerically, analytically, and experimentally.
authors.affiliation: ECE dept., McGill University, 3480 University Street, Montreal, Canada. imran.cheema@mail.mcgill.ca
authors.forename: M Imran
authors.initials: MI
authors.lastname: Cheema
authors.forename: Andrew G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Kirk
mesh_terms: D015374:Biosensing Techniques / Q000295:instrumentation*; D017076:Computer-Aided Design; D004867:Equipment Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D020342:Finite Element Analysis; D008904:Miniaturization; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013057:Spectrum Analysis / Q000295:instrumentation*