Flow sensor using a hollow whispering gallery mode microlaser

Flow sensing using the concept of a hot whispering gallery microlaser is presented. Silica microcapillaries or microbubbles, coated with a layer of erbium:ytterbium (Er:Yb) doped phosphate laser glass, result in a hollow, microbottle-shaped laser geometry. The Er:Yb doped glass outer layer is pumped at 980 nm via a tapered optical fiber and whispering gallery mode (WGM) lasing is recorded at 1535 nm. When gas passes through the capillary, the WGMs shift toward shorter wavelengths due to the cooling effect of the fluid flow. In this way, thermal tuning of the lasing modes over 70 GHz can be achieved. The output end of the capillary is connected to a mass flow sensor and the WGM shift rate as a function of flow rate and pump laser power is measured, with the results fitted using hot wire anemometry theory. Flow sensing can also be realized when the cavity is passively probed at 780 nm, with the estimated Q-factor of the WGMs being in excess of 10⁵.