Broadband cavity-enhanced absorption spectroscopy with incoherent light

Although broadband incoherent light does not efficiently couple into a high-finesse optical cavity, its transmission is readily detectable and enables applications in cavity-enhanced absorption spectroscopy in the gas phase, liquid phase and on surfaces. This chapter gives an overview of measurement principles and experimental approaches implementing incoherent light sources in cavity-enhanced spectroscopic applications. The general principles of broadband CEAS are outlined and general “pros and cons” discussed, detailing aspects like cavity mirror reflectivity calibration or the establishment of detection limits. Different approaches concerning light sources, cavity design and detection schemes are discussed and a comprehensive overview of the current literature based on a methodological classification scheme is also presented.

Cavity ring‑up spectroscopy for dissipative and dispersive sensing in a whispering gallery mode resonator

In whispering gallery mode resonator sensing applications, the conventional way to detect a change in the parameter to be measured is by observing the steady-state transmission spectrum through the coupling waveguide. Alternatively, sensing based on cavity ring-up spectroscopy, i.e. CRUS, can be achieved transiently. In this work, we investigate CRUS using coupled mode equations and find analytical solutions with a large spectral broadening approximation of the input pulse. The relationships between the frequency detuning, coupling gap and ring-up peak height are determined and experimentally verified using an ultrahigh Q-factor silica microsphere. This work shows that distinctive dispersive and dissipative transient sensing can be realised by simply measuring the peak height of the CRUS signal, which may improve the data collection rate.