Photonic nanojet-induced modes in chains of size-disordered microspheres with an attenuation of only 0.08dB per sphere

By using spatially resolved spectroscopy the authors demonstrate that the periodical focusing of light in straight chains of touching 5μm polystyrene microspheres is characterized with the periodicity of photonic nanojets corresponding to the size of two spheres. In transmission spectra of long (>20 spheres) chains they observe Fabry–Pérot fringes with propagation losses of only 0.08dB per sphere in the maxima of transmission peaks. Due to mechanical robustness, tight focusing of the beam, high optical throughput, and broad spectral transmission properties such chains can be used in a variety of biomedical applications as optical microprobes with subwavelength spatial resolution.