Wafer-scale arrays of high-Q silica optical microcavities

On-chip high-Q microcavities possess significant potential in terms of integration of optical microresonators into functional optoelectronic devices that could be used in various applications, including biosensors, photonic-integrated circuits, or quantum optics experiments. Yet, despite the convenience of fabricating wafer-scale integrated microresonators with moderate Q values using standard microfabrication techniques, surface-tension-induced microcavities (STIMs), which have atomic-level surface roughness enabling the observation of Q values larger than 106, could only be produced using individual thermal treatment of every single microresonator within the devised area. Here, we demonstrate a facile method for large-scale fabrication of silica STIMs of various morphologies. Q values exceeding 106 are readily obtained using this technique. This study represents a significant advancement toward fabrication of wafer-scale optoelectronic circuitries.