Low-noise wideband ultrasound detection using polymer microring resonators

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Abstract
Polymer microring resonators for low-noise, wideband ultrasound detection are presented. Using a nanoimprinting technique, we fabricated polymer microring resonators with a quality factor of 6000 resulting in high sensitivity to ultrasound. A noise-equivalent pressure of 0.23kPa over 1–75MHz and a detection bandwidth of over 90MHz at −3dB were measured. These results demonstrate the potential of polymer microring resonators for high-frequency ultrasound and photoacoustic imaging. For a typical photoacoustic imaging test case, the high sensitivity demonstrated in these devices would increase imaging depth by a factor of 3 compared to state-of-the-art polyvinylidene fluoride detectors.