Level-crossing and modal structure in microdroplet resonators

Abstract

We fabricate a liquid-core liquid-clad microcavity that is coupled to a standard tapered fiber, and then experimentally map the whispering-gallery modes of this droplet resonator. The shape of our resonator is similar to a thin prolate spheroid, which makes space for many high-order transverse modes, suggesting that some of them will share the same resonance frequency. Indeed, we experimentally observe that more than half of the droplet's modes have a sibling having the same frequency (to within linewidth) and therefore exhibiting a standing interference-pattern.