<p>Optical microcavities are widely used as transducers for gas sensing, yet their performance is constrained by a natural trade-off between sensitivity and dynamic range. Here we introduce a laser-tagging optofluidic microcavity that overcomes this limitation, enabling hydrogen detection across a concentration range spanning from the single-molecule level to 1.53 × 10<sup>5</sup> ppm. The architecture features a hollow whispering-gallery-mode microcavity, functionally coated on its interior surface with a Pt/WO<sub>3</sub> nanofilm. Gas detection is mediated via thermal phonon transfer, which allows efficient gas–material interaction without perturbing the optical field, preserving an ultrahigh intrinsic <i>Q</i> factor of 1.89 × 10<sup>9</sup> during sensing. Through so-called laser tagging, a probe laser is dynamically locked to the microcavity’s optimal operating point, enabling real-time resonance tracking. This scheme not only suppresses phase noise by more than three orders of magnitude but also facilitates wide-bandwidth optoelectronic heterodyne demodulation. We achieve hertz-level frequency-shift resolution and a measurable resonance shift of up to 1 GHz, allowing the sensor to detect hydrogen concentrations from 3 × 10<sup>−5</sup> ppm to 1.53 × 10<sup>5</sup> ppm. With lock-in amplification, even individual molecular dynamics can be resolved. The device’s integrated, centimetre-scale footprint ensures robust operation outside the laboratory, offering a universal strategy to advance optical microcavities towards ultraprecise metrology applications.</p>

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Adaptive laser-tagging optofluidic microcavity for single-molecule hydrogen detection across a nine-decade concentration span

  • Yan-Hong Guo,
  • Teng Tan,
  • Shu-Ya Yuan,
  • Ze-Ping Wang,
  • Zi-Han Liu,
  • Ya-Qian Zhao,
  • Zhen-Heng Xu,
  • Bing Chang,
  • Han-Ding Xia,
  • Lei Peng,
  • Guang-Ming Zhao,
  • Heng Zhou,
  • Yu Wu,
  • Bo-Wen Li,
  • Yun-Jiang Rao,
  • Bai-Cheng Yao

摘要

Optical microcavities are widely used as transducers for gas sensing, yet their performance is constrained by a natural trade-off between sensitivity and dynamic range. Here we introduce a laser-tagging optofluidic microcavity that overcomes this limitation, enabling hydrogen detection across a concentration range spanning from the single-molecule level to 1.53 × 105 ppm. The architecture features a hollow whispering-gallery-mode microcavity, functionally coated on its interior surface with a Pt/WO3 nanofilm. Gas detection is mediated via thermal phonon transfer, which allows efficient gas–material interaction without perturbing the optical field, preserving an ultrahigh intrinsic Q factor of 1.89 × 109 during sensing. Through so-called laser tagging, a probe laser is dynamically locked to the microcavity’s optimal operating point, enabling real-time resonance tracking. This scheme not only suppresses phase noise by more than three orders of magnitude but also facilitates wide-bandwidth optoelectronic heterodyne demodulation. We achieve hertz-level frequency-shift resolution and a measurable resonance shift of up to 1 GHz, allowing the sensor to detect hydrogen concentrations from 3 × 10−5 ppm to 1.53 × 105 ppm. With lock-in amplification, even individual molecular dynamics can be resolved. The device’s integrated, centimetre-scale footprint ensures robust operation outside the laboratory, offering a universal strategy to advance optical microcavities towards ultraprecise metrology applications.