Gain competition induced mode evolution and resonance control in erbium-doped whispering-gallery microresonators.

Precise control of resonance features in microcavities is of significant importance both for researches and applications. By exploiting gain provided by the doped rare earth ions or Raman gain, this can be achieved through changing the pump. Here we propose and experimentally show that by using gain competition, one can also control the evolution of resonance for the probe signal while the pump is kept unchanged. The transition of Lorentz peak, Fano-like resonance and Lorentz dip can be observed from the transmission spectra of the probe signal through tuning the auxiliary control signal. The theory based on coupled-mode theory and laser rate equations by setting the optical gains as time-dependent was constructed. This method can be used in the precise control of transmission spectra and the coupling regime between the waveguide and microcavities.