Optical resonances in tubular microcavities with subwavelength wall thicknesses

Based on the Mie scattering theory, we study optical resonances with whispering gallery modes (WGMs) in tubular microcavities. Rigorous formulas are present to obtain resonant wavelengths and Q factors for the WGM resonances. It is found that the Q factors of microtubes can be dramatically increased by increasing the dielectric constants in tube walls. For common SiO/SiO2 based microtubes, Q factors can be improved by one order when the microtubes are coated with thin high-index HfO2 layers (n = 1.95, thickness = 10 nm). The results could be useful for designing better optical devices based on tubular microcavities. VC 2011 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3664110]