Optical resonators based on Bloch surface waves

TL;DR

This paper explores the design and feasibility of optical resonators based on Bloch surface waves, analyzing their potential for applications in sensing and light-matter interaction at micro and nano scales.

Contribution

It introduces the concept of using guided Bloch surface waves in ring resonator configurations and discusses design considerations and limitations.

Findings

Analyzed the main design issues for BSW-based resonators.

Identified limitations in quality factors and dimensions.

Proposed potential applications in sensing and light-matter studies.

Abstract

A few recent works suggest the possibility of controlling light propagation at the interface of periodic multilayers supporting Bloch surface waves (BSWs), but optical resonators based on BSWs are yet to demonstrate. Here we discuss the feasibility of exploiting guided BSWs in a ring resonator configuration. In particular, we investigate the main issues related to the design of these structures, and we discuss about their limitations in terms of quality factors and dimensions. We believe these results might be useful for the development of a complete BSW-based platform for application ranging from optical sensing to the study of the light-matter interaction in micro and nano structures.