Magnesium Fluoride Whispering Gallery Mode Disk-Resonators for Microwave Photonics Applications

We have manufactured a high-Q whispering gallery mode resonator with magnesium fluoride for microwave photonics applications in the gigahertz frequency range. This crystal is scarcely used for resonator fabrication despite its numerous advantages, that are mainly high mechanical hardness, low sensitivity to water vapor pollution, and low sensitivity to photo- and thermo-refractive fluctuations at optimal temperatures. Using a customized machining procedure, we have successfully fabricated and characterized a 5-mm resonator with a surface rugosity of the order of 1 nm (from 3 to 12 atoms). Cavity ring-down measurements enabled us to determine that the resonator has a quality factor Q = 3.4 × 10⁸ at 1550 nm.