Parity-time-symmetric whispering-gallery mode nanoparticle sensor [Invited]

We present a study of single nanoparticle detection using parity-time (PT) symmetric whispering-gallery mode (WGM) resonators. Our theoretical model and numerical simulations show that, with balanced gain and loss, the PT-symmetric WGM nanoparticle sensor, tailored to operate at PT phase transition points (also called exceptional points), exhibits significant enhancement in frequency splitting when compared with a single WGM nanoparticle sensor subject to the same perturbation. The presence of gain in the PT-symmetric system leads to narrower linewidth, which helps to resolve smaller changes in frequency splitting and improve the detection limit of nanoparticle sensing. Furthermore, we also provide a general method for detecting multiple nanoparticles entering the mode volume of a PT-symmetric WGM sensor one by one. Our study shows the feasibility of PT-symmetric WGM resonators for ultrasensitive single nanoparticle and biomolecule sensing. (C) 2018 Chinese Laser Press.