Electromagnetic wave propagation in a rolled-up tubular microcavity

Strain-engineering of nanomembranes with pre-defined geometries leads to fabrication of microtubular structures by lift-off technology, which provide tunable three-dimensional confinement of electromagnetic waves propagating both in circular cross section and along the longitudinal direction (tube axis) as microscale resonators. By changing the rolling geometry and functional materials of rolled-up microcavities, manipulation of the electromagnetic waves in the microcavities has been demonstrated (e.g., in the case of metamaterials and photonic crystals) and spin-orbit coupling was also observed recently. Moreover, the interactions of the electromagnetic waves with their environments have led to advantageous sensing applications of rolled-up microcavities such as molecule detection and opto-fluidic refractometry. This review will summarize recent experimental and theoretical progress concerning rolled-up tubular microcavities and focus on resonance tuning and sensing applications.