Whispering-gallery modes observed in elastic scattering from submerged high-refractive-index silica microspheres

The effect of the discrete values of the refractive index of the surrounding medium on the spectral behavior of the whispering-gallery modes (WGMs) in the elastic scattering spectra of high-refractive-index silica microspheres submerged in fluids, such as air, water, and glycerol, is studied. The elastic scattering spectral measurements, as well as the spectral autocorrelation analysis of these elastic scattering spectra show that the spectral-mode spacing, the spectral-mode density, and the spectral-mode definition of the WGMs decrease as the refractive index of the surrounding fluid increases. We believe that this work opens up the way for optofluidic applications of high-refractive-index silica microsphere-based guided wave optics. (c) 2017 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE)