Abstract:

Whispering gallery mode (WGM) microcavities have attracted wide attention due to their small mode volume, ultra-high Q value, and low threshold. However, in rotationally symmetric WGM microcavities, multiple longitudinal mode laser radiation can be generated, and the directionality of the radiation is poor, which limits its practical applications. Finding effective methods to achieve single-mode radiation of WGM lasers is a key issue for microcavity lasers to move toward practical applications. This review focuses on several methods of single-mode modulation of WGM lasing in recent years, including reducing cavity size, adding mode selection structure, based on the vernier effect, parity-time symmetry breaking, deformed microcavity, etc. This review aims to provide a reference for researchers in related fields and deepen their understanding of the physical mechanism of single-mode modulation of WGM lasing.

Key words:  WGM, single-mode regulation, vernier effect, parity-time symmetry, deformed microcavity