We show both theoretically and experimentally that a random distribution of spherical microparticles may be used as a spectral hole burning memory. This microparticle hole burning memory, which can be both written and read at room temperature, is a direct consequence of the properties of morphology-dependent resonances of microparticles.
Persistent spectral hole burning with multiplicity was realized at room temperature for Nile blue molecules-doped polymeric dielectric spherical microparticles based on morphology-dependent resonances. Hole parameters depending on burning conditions were studied. Dynamical characteristic behavior of hole formation was measured and analyzed with a model based on rate equations. The effective hole formation rate was obtained by simulation. Photophysical and photochemical mechanisms of the room temperature hole burning for this system was discussed.
Recently, photonic atoms (dielectric microspheres) have enjoyed the attention of the optical spectroscopy community. A variety of linear and nonlinear optical processes have been observed in liquid microdroplets. But solid state photonic devices using these properties are scarce. A first of these applications is the room temperature microparticle hole-burning memory. New applications can be envisioned if microparticle resonances can be coupled to traveling waves in optical fibers. In this paper we demonstrate the excitation of narrow morphology dependent resonances of microparticles placed on an optical fiber. Furthermore we reveal a model for this process which describes the coupling efficiency in terms of the geometrical and material properties of the microparticle-fiber system.
We present an analytical model for hole burning in a random collection of microparticles, based on single-particle properties. The model indicates that the linewidth of the central hole is approximately Lorentzian in shape and is controlled by the photon lifetimes in individual particles. Our conclusion is consistent with experiments on a two-dimensional layer of connected microparticles. Electrodynamic calculations for a pair of particles in contact provide an explanation for the apparent lack of importance of interparticle interactions in the experiments and suggest conditions under which the effects of such interactions should appear.