Open AccessNanoscale welding aerosol sensing based on whispering gallery modes in a cylindrical silica resonator
Author(s) -
Aram Lee,
Thomas Mills,
Yong Xu
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
optics express
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.394
H-Index - 271
ISSN - 1094-4087
DOI - 10.1364/oe.23.007351
Subject(s) - whispering gallery wave , materials science , resonator , optics , nanoscopic scale , aerosol , resonance (particle physics) , nanoparticle , optoelectronics , nanotechnology , chemistry , physics , organic chemistry , particle physics
We report an experimental technique where one uses a standard silica fiber as a cylindrical whispering gallery mode (WGM) resonator to sense airborne nanoscale aerosols produced by electric arc welding. We find that the accumulation of aerosols on the resonator surface induces a measurable red-shift in resonance frequency, and establish an empirical relation that links the magnitude of resonance shift with the amount of aerosol deposition. The WGM quality factors, by contrast, do not decrease significantly, even for samples with a large percentage of surface area covered by aerosols. Our experimental results are discussed and compared with existing literature on WGM-based nanoparticle sensing.