Custom-Built Vision-Assisted Arc Discharge System for Fabricating High-Q In-Line Microbubble Resonator Arrays

Ma, Yanbin; Shu, Fangjie; Wang, Meng; Yu, Di; Wang, Yuhang; Yue, Zongren; Sun, Chunzhi

doi:10.3390/mi17091091

Open AccessArticle

Custom-Built Vision-Assisted Arc Discharge System for Fabricating High-Q In-Line Microbubble Resonator Arrays

by

Yanbin Ma

,

Fangjie Shu

^*,

Meng Wang

,

Di Yu

,

Yuhang Wang

,

Zongren Yue

and

Chunzhi Sun

Henan Engineering Research Center of Microcavity and Optoelectronic Intelligent Sensing, Shangqiu Normal University, No. 298 Wenhua Street, Shangqiu 476000, China

^*

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Micromachines 2026, 17(9), 1091; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi17091091

Submission received: 10 August 2026 / Revised: 6 September 2026 / Accepted: 11 September 2026 / Published: 16 September 2026

(This article belongs to the Section A1: Optical MEMS and Photonic Microsystems)

Download

Browse Figures

Versions Notes

Abstract

Whispering gallery mode microbubble resonators (MBRs) are prominent optofluidic platforms, yet fabricating highly symmetric in-line arrays remains a technical challenge. Here, we demonstrate a custom-built, vision-assisted arc discharge apparatus for the deterministic fabrication of high-Q MBRs. Using finite-element simulations and microscopic observations, we reveal that asymmetric expansion is primarily driven by transverse misalignment within the plasma arc and intrinsic thermal anisotropy caused by the current crowding effect. Guided by these physical insights, we utilize real-time three-axis spatial compensation to successfully fabricate highly symmetric, cascaded in-line MBR arrays on a single continuous capillary. Optical characterization of a 16-cavity array demonstrates excellent performance reproducibility, with 12 individual microbubbles achieving ultra-high Q-factors exceeding 10⁷. This highly controllable approach provides a robust platform for distributed microfluidic sensing and integrated lab-on-a-chip applications.

Keywords: microbubble resonator; whispering gallery mode; arc discharge; in-line array; morphological symmetry; optofluidics

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Ma, Y.; Shu, F.; Wang, M.; Yu, D.; Wang, Y.; Yue, Z.; Sun, C. Custom-Built Vision-Assisted Arc Discharge System for Fabricating High-Q In-Line Microbubble Resonator Arrays. Micromachines 2026, 17, 1091. https://doi.org/10.3390/mi17091091

AMA Style

Ma Y, Shu F, Wang M, Yu D, Wang Y, Yue Z, Sun C. Custom-Built Vision-Assisted Arc Discharge System for Fabricating High-Q In-Line Microbubble Resonator Arrays. Micromachines. 2026; 17(9):1091. https://doi.org/10.3390/mi17091091

Chicago/Turabian Style

Ma, Yanbin, Fangjie Shu, Meng Wang, Di Yu, Yuhang Wang, Zongren Yue, and Chunzhi Sun. 2026. "Custom-Built Vision-Assisted Arc Discharge System for Fabricating High-Q In-Line Microbubble Resonator Arrays" Micromachines 17, no. 9: 1091. https://doi.org/10.3390/mi17091091

APA Style

Ma, Y., Shu, F., Wang, M., Yu, D., Wang, Y., Yue, Z., & Sun, C. (2026). Custom-Built Vision-Assisted Arc Discharge System for Fabricating High-Q In-Line Microbubble Resonator Arrays. Micromachines, 17(9), 1091. https://doi.org/10.3390/mi17091091

Note that from the first issue of 2016, this journal uses article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.

Article Menu

Custom-Built Vision-Assisted Arc Discharge System for Fabricating High-Q In-Line Microbubble Resonator Arrays

Abstract

Share and Cite

Article Metrics

Article Access Statistics

Further Information

Guidelines

MDPI Initiatives

Follow MDPI