Self-locked excitation scheme for microsphere resonators

We propose a new scheme for exciting a resonant mode of a glass microsphere resonator. The concept is based on unique properties of coupled resonators. In the proposed setup, the microsphere plays the role of a feedback mirror in an erbium-doped fiber laser, where the lasing wavelength is automatically locked to a resonant mode of the microsphere. As a result, the laser radiation builds up to very high intensities inside the microsphere. Using a (multimode) pump diode laser at relatively low pump power, we achieve continuous-wave stimulated Raman lasing and generation of new laser frequencies by four-wave mixing.