High Performance Polymeric Fabry-Pérot Microcavities for Sensing and Lasing Applications

We present the design, fabrication, and optical characterization of fully polymer-based high performance Fabry-Pérot microcavities for sensing and lasing applications. Two microcavity types (Cavity A and B) were realized using polymeric Distributed Bragg Reflector (DBR) films offering distinct spectral properties. Cavity A achieved a high quality factor (Q ≈ 2.15 × 105), demonstrating excellent sensitivity for bulk refractive index sensing with an ultrahigh figure of merit of 5.89 × 104 and a theoretical detection limit down 3.4 × 10−7 RIU. Cavity B was optimized for lasing applications. When filled with a Rhodamine B dye solution, it exhibited clear lasing action with a low threshold (1.83 μJ/mm2) and resonant peaks consistent with its free spectral range. These results highlight the potential of cost-effective polymeric cavities for disposable photonic sensor platforms and integrated biolaser devices.