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arXiv:2607.20826

Nonlinear and Quantum Optics with Whispering Gallery Resonators Revisited

Dmitry V. Strekalov, N. J. Lambert, Christoph Marquardt, Andrey B. Matsko, Harald G. L. Schwefel, Florian Sedlmeir, Mallika Irene Suresh, Gerd Leuchs

Published Jul 23, 2026• 0 citations
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Abstract

In 2016 we published a review paper "Nonlinear and Quantum Optics with Whispering Gallery Resonators" (1). While writing this review, we found it often necessary to defer addressing many challenges of the field to the future. At the same time, many potential benefits offered by nonlinear optical resonators were also deferred to the future pending the underlying technology development. The past ten years have seen a great deal of such development, including in the field of resonator optics. We feel that an update to our 2016 review is in order. In this new review we focus on the most significant developments in the field that took place in past ten years.

DOI
10.48550/arxiv.2607.20826

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In 2016 we published a review paper "Nonlinear and Quantum Optics with Whispering Gallery Resonators" (1). While writing this review, we found it often necessary to defer addressing many challenges of the field to the future. At the same time, many potential benefits offered by nonlinear optical resonators were also deferred to the future pending the underlying technology development. The past ten years have seen a great deal of such development, including in the field of resonator optics. We feel that an update to our 2016 review is in order. In this new review we focus on the most significant developments in the field that took place in past ten years.
Optical whispering gallery modes (WGMs) derive their name from a famous acoustic phenomenon of guiding a wave by a curved boundary observed nearly a century ago.This phenomenon has a rather general nature, equally applicable to sound and all other waves.It enables resonators of unique properties attractive both in science and engineering.Very high quality factors of optical WGM resonators persisting in a wide wavelength range spanning from radio frequencies to ultraviolet light, their small mode volume, and tunable in-and out-coupling make them exceptionally efficient for nonlinear optical applications.Nonlinear optics facilitates interaction of photons with each other and with other physical systems, and is of prime importance in quantum optics.In this paper we review numerous applications of WGM resonators in nonlinear and quantum optics.We outline the current areas of interest, summarize progress, highlight difficulties, and discuss possible future development trends in these areas.
High- and ultrahigh-Q whispering-gallery mode resonators have the capability to trap photons by total internal reflection for a duration ranging from nanoseconds to milliseconds. These exceptionally long photon lifetimes enhance the light–matter interactions at all scales, namely at the electronic, molecular, and lattice levels. As a consequence, nonlinear photon scattering can be triggered with very low threshold powers, down to a few microwatts. The possibility to efficiently harness photon–photon interactions with a system optimizing size, weight, power, and cost constraints has created a new, quickly thriving research area in photonics science and technology. This topic is inherently cross-disciplinary, as it stands at the intersection of nonlinear and quantum optics, crystallography, optoelectronics, and microwave photonics. From a fundamental perspective, high-Q whispering-gallery mode resonators have emerged as an ideal platform to investigate light–matter interactions in nonlinear bulk materials. From an applied viewpoint, technological applications include time-metrology, aerospace engineering, coherent optical fiber communications, or nonclassical light generation, among others. The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of the most recent advances in this area, which is increasingly gaining importance in contemporary photonics.