Design of rare-earth doped chalcogenide microresonators for biosensing in Mid-IR

In this paper some preliminary results pertaining to the design and fabrication of rare-earth doped chalcogenide microresonators for lasing in mid-infrared (Mid-IR) wavelength range are illustrated. The unique properties of chalcogenide glass and the Whispering Gallery Mode (WGM) resonances make possible to obtain light emission via rare-earth transitions at long wavelengths. As example, a light source based on chalcogenide glass doped with Er 3+ is investigated via a home-made numerical model based on the coupled mode theory and solving the rare-earth rate equations. A number of promising applications in different areas such as biology, molecular spectroscopy and environmental monitoring are feasible.